Bird flu back in some regions

Bird flu back in some regions

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta

Cases of bird flu have recurred in some parts of previously
affected areas in Indonesia, but the government says it has taken
measures to prevent the deadly disease from spreading to new
areas.

"A week ago, we launched a massive campaign to vaccinate
chickens to prevent an event similar to what happened in Thailand
and Vietnam," director of animal health at the Ministry of
Agriculture Tri Satya Putri Naipospos told The Jakarta Post.

Earlier reports said that Thailand and Vietnam had recently
experienced a fresh outbreak of bird flu cases, including some in
areas not previously affected. The virus was also found in China.

Starting on July 15, the government, via the Ministry of
Agriculture, distributed as many as 300 million doses of vaccine
to small and medium-sized poultry farms across the country.

"We aim to establish an immune population, and to reduce both
the population that is vulnerable to the disease and the
mortality rate. Therefore, even if the virus cannot be totally
eliminated from a farm, the chickens will not be affected," she
said on the phone, while on her way to Tulungagung regency, East
Java.

According to data from the ministry, at least 1,700 chickens
have been killed by bird flu in Tulungagung since June.

The ministry also said that some 3,100 chickens in Demak (East
Java), Purworejo (Central Java) and Gunung Kidul (Yogyakarta) had
died since May.

Tri explained that, based on her preliminary information,
chicken farmers in Tulungagung had been negligent in dealing with
the virus, failing to follow procedures recommended by the
government.

"The farmers (in affected areas) may only restock their
poultry after the property has been empty for 30 days following
cleaning and sterilization," she said, adding that she received
reports that farmers had ignored the recommendation.

Earlier this year, the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, or
avian flu, swept across Asia, ravaging the poultry industry and
killing 24 people in Thailand and Vietnam. More than 100 million
chickens and ducks across the region were slaughtered to help
curb the spread of the disease. That included some 4.7 million
chickens in Indonesia, which saw some 95 regencies in 15
provinces affected.

Although the government received in February strong criticism
from the international community for responding too slowly to the
disease, the problem seemed already to be under control a month
later through a combination of mass slaughter, use of vaccines
and other measures.

Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih said last month that
it would take three years for Indonesia to be totally free of the
virus, and warned that the country was still vulnerable to a new
outbreak.

Hans Wagner, of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in
Bangkok, said that the Indonesian government should start to
control the movement of animals.

"We've seen a slight geographical expansion of the disease,
but it's not as dramatic as it was months ago," Wagner told the
Associated Press.

"This shows that there is still work to be done in controlling
the movement of animals. We believe that has been a factor in the
continuous spread of the disease."