Bird flu virus hits W. Nusa Tenggara

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Bird flu has broken out in several parts of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), killing thousands of birds in the provincial capital of Mataram.

The Mataram agriculture and animal husbandry office said that more than 20,000 birds, or 43 percent of the poultry population in 10 out of the 23 subdistricts in the city, had been infected by the Avian Influenza virus.

"Currently, bird flu cases are common here. Generally, the birds infected by the virus have died as there is no cure for the disease," Mataram animal husbandry office veterinarian Dian Diatmiko said.

The outbreak was less severe in the other 13 subdistricts, where about 10 percent of the total poultry population was affected.

Dian said the bird flu virus had only attacked free-range poultry in those areas.

"The virus has only attacked free-range chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and Manila ducks, but it has spared chickens raised for their meat," he said on Friday.

Dian added that it was the first time that bird flu had hit Mataram this year.

The virus was believed to have been introduced by poultry from outside West Nusa Tenggara, especially from the neighboring island of Bali. Poultry from Bali was free to enter West Nusa Tenggara before the provincial administration issued a ban.

Besides being introduced by poultry, Dian said, the virus could also have been carried by birds from Sulawesi.

The Mataram agriculture and animal husbandry office only declared an alert early this month over the spread of the virus, though domestic fowl were believed to have been infected by the virus since last September.

To prevent the virus from spreading further, the local husbandry office is providing 250,000 doses of the A1 type vaccine for free, Dian said.

He acknowledged that the current rainy season would worsen the spread of bird flu as the virus could survive longer in the open air when temperatures are lower and the soil more moist.

"Therefore, we are planning a mass vaccination program," he said.

However, there have been no reports that the virus has infected human beings in Mataram, Dian added.

"The virus, carried in the droppings of infected birds, can infect humans. It's advisable that a person who is suffering from human flu stays away from infected birds because an exchange between human flu and bird flu would cause a mutation of the flu viruses, and this would create a new mutant virus, which would be even more dangerous," he warned.

Earlier this year, a major bird flu outbreak occurred in Java, killing hundreds of thousands of chickens and other birds.