Bird flu spreading in Makassar, C. Java

The Jakarta Post, Makassar, Semarang

The government has set aside Rp 750 million (US$83,333) to assist poultry breeders who have had to destroy their bird flu-infected flocks in South Sulawesi, and has also set up a Rp 250 million backup fund.

The Ministry of Agriculture's Director General of Husbandry, HR Warsito, disclosed the plan in Makassar on Wednesday. Similar financial assistance, the amount of which has not been disclosed, had also been earmarked by the Directorate General of Animal Health.

Warsito said the money would be disbursed once the South Sulawesi provincial administration submitted a report on the number of birds that had to be destroyed. The report would be verified to ensure its accuracy.

"The money is ready but there's a mechanism that has to be followed. So, maybe the money can be disbursed in two or three months' time," he said.

The fund, he said, was not intended to fully compensate the breeders. Consequently, each chicken would be valued at Rp 2,000, lower that the market price.

Only infected birds have been destroyed so far, with biosecurity measures, such as vaccination and the routine spraying of disinfectant, had been instituted to prevent the remaining birds from becoming infected, he said.

Bird flu, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus.

As of Wednesday, bird flu was continuing to spread in South Sulawesi, affecting around 128,000 chickens so far in four regencies: Sidenreng Rappang (Sidrap), Wajo, Soppeng and Maros.

The biggest outbreak occurred in Sidrap regency, some 200 kilometers north of Makassar, where the virus has infected 101,400 chickens.

Warsito said there was no problem with the supply of vaccines, with the ministry having a stock of some 50 million doses of vaccine ready to be distributed to breeders.

Earlier, the coordinator of the Bird Flu Crisis Center, Muhammad Kafil, who is also the head of the animal health office subdivision, had complained of a lack of vaccines. So far, his office had only received 1.2 million doses of vaccine for some 24 million chickens.

South Sulawesi poultry farmers have estimated their losses arising out of bird flu at billions of rupiah. The outbreak had not only hit the farmers but also those who relied on poultry- derived foodstuffs as people were reluctant to consume chickens and eggs, despite the fact that prices were plummeting.

Warsito said that both chickens and eggs were safe to consume and people should not be afraid of becoming infected.

"We've conducted DNA analyses and the strains of the virus in South Sulawesi and other parts of Indonesia are different from the strains in Thailand and Hong Kong. Bird flu in Indonesia has not resulted in bird-to-human transmission. Moreover, the virus is killed by adequate heating. So, there's no need to be afraid," he said.

WHO says that as long as chicken meat and eggs are cooked at temperatures of above 70 degrees Celsius, they are safe to consume.

In the Central Java town of Boyolali, thousands of quails have reportedly died in Klego district over the last 10 days due to a suspected outbreak of bird flu.

Samples of the dead quails were taken to the Animal Disease Investigation Bureau in Wates, Yogyakarta, to verify the cause of death, Boyolali Fisheries and Husbandry Office director Djoko Waluyo said on Wednesday.

"Around five percent out of a total of about 130,000 quails have died. The number keeps rising every day. There are strong indications that the deaths have been caused by bird flu, but to be sure of the real cause we're still waiting for the results of the lab tests," Djoko said.

Last year, bird flu killed almost 1.6 million birds, ranging from quails to chickens, in the regency. That time, it affected 12 out of the regency's 19 districts.

"This year, we have found the disease only in Klego district. In order to prevent its further spread, we have been spraying disinfectant at all poultry farms and giving vitamins to healthy birds," he said.

According to Ministry of Agriculture data, bird flu has killed 16.23 million birds in the country, with 8.17 million of them in Central Java, the worst-hit province.