Public told to be alert, not panic about bird flu<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto and Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Tangerang<\/p>\n
Breakfast on Wednesday evening might be the last time that
\nHariyanto, 35, will enjoy his favorite meal: fried chicken.<\/p>\n
\"I read the news on the Internet in the afternoon that the
\ndeaths of three people at the Villa Melati Mas housing complex in
\nTangerang last week was likely caused by avian flu virus ... they
\nwere infected by chicken meat that they ate,\" said Hariyanto, a
\nresident of Pondok Aren village, also in Tangerang regency.<\/p>\n
He said he had told his wife never again to serve chicken to
\nhim and their two children.<\/p>\n
Hariyanto was referring to media reports that a laboratory in Hong
\nKong had confirmed that bird flu virus was found in the blood
\nsamples of Iwan Siswara Rifei, an auditor at the Supreme Audit
\nAgency (BPK), and his two young daughters.<\/p>\n
The first fatal case of the human variant of bird flu has
\nprompted the government to declare Tangerang a \"red zone\" and to
\nstart monitoring Villa Melati Mas residents and the
\ntransportation of animals and poultry in and out of the regency.<\/p>\n
However, statements from Minister of Health Siti Fadilah
\nSupari have irked Regent Ismet Iskandar, who said on Thursday
\nthat residents had started to panic, while poultry breeders and
\ntraders were complaining about falling sales.<\/p>\n
\"The central government should not have rushed to declare
\nTangerang an avian influenza red zone. After all, no poultry farm
\nworkers have contracted the disease,\" Ismet said, adding that
\nnone of the workers used masks or gloves.<\/p>\n
\"I would call on residents not to panic,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He said he believed that Iwan Siswara had picked up the virus
\nsomewhere outside Tangerang due to his high mobility and the fact
\nthat he was often sent abroad.<\/p>\n
Tangerang Regency Farm and Agricultural Agency director Didi
\nAswadi said that all poultry in Tangerang was free of bird flu.<\/p>\n
He also said that pigs and poultry had not been dying on a
\nlarge scale in Legok and Panongan districts because of bird flu
\nas reported by local media outlets on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"We did find bird flu symptoms in pigs in Legok in 2003 and
\n2004 while conducting routine examinations, but the pigs were
\nthen culled,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Didi added that since an early warning system had been put in
\nplace in Tangerang in February this year, all poultry, pets and
\npigs had been given vaccinated.<\/p>\n
Chicken traders in Jakarta were also complaining about falling
\nbusiness as a result of the bird flu scare.<\/p>\n
\"My sales have declined by between 15 percent and 25 percent
\nin the past four days. Usually, I sell around 100 chickens a day,
\nbut I have only sold around 50 chickens today (up to 2:30 p.m.),\"
\nsaid Muhammad Zainuri, 50, a trader at Palmerah market, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Hery Indiyanto, the head of the Animal Product Health Division
\nat the Jakarta Husbandry, Fisheries and Maritime Agency, said on
\nThursday that residents could easily avoid being infected by bird
\nflu.<\/p>\n
According to Hery, the avian flu virus dies at a temperature
\nof 80 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n
\"I don't recommend that people avoid eating chicken meat as it
\nis safe to eat if it is cooked well,\" he said, adding that the
\npanic had been caused by a lack understanding about the disease.<\/p>\n
He said that most chickens in Jakarta markets came from
\nCianjur, Sukabumi, Garut and Purwakarta in West Java, and Solo,
\nPurwokerto and Yogyakarta in Central Java.<\/p>\n
\"The chickens are first sent to Lampiri Market in Pulogadung,
\nEast Jakarta, from where they are distributed to all the other
\nmarkets. We prevent chickens that are not provided with health
\ncertificates from entering Jakarta.\"<\/p>\n
He said Jakartans consumed some 600,000 chickens per day.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/public-told-to-be-alert-not-panic-about-bird-flu-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }