Cirebon moves against bird flu

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon

As part of the effort to prevent the spread of bird flu in Cirebon, the local government has been taking precautionary measures to fight the lethal virus, including spraying chicken houses and coops with disinfectant.

The measures, on top of an aggressive media campaign, have been underway for the past few days ago in several areas considered susceptible to bird flu, including the bird markets.

On Friday, a team of government officials sprayed chicken houses and coops with disinfectant and vaccinated fowl suspected of having been infected with the bird flu virus in Weru bird market.

Cirebon Animal Husbandry Office chief Abdurrochim Glenarto said that similar measures had been and would continue to be employed in other bird markets in the area.

Elsewhere, Cirebon Regent Dedi Supardi said that the Cirebon government had earmarked Rp 2 billion (US$200,000) to prevent the spread of bird flu, which has claimed four lives in Indonesia since July. All of the victims were Jakartans. However, fears are running deep in the regions as the virus is readily passed by birds and has been reported as far away as East Java and South Sulawesi provinces.

"Although no Cirebon people have been infected by the lethal virus, we have to prepare for the worst," he said.

In order to prevent bird flu from spreading, Dedi has instructed the local animal husbandry office to monitor closely the transportation of animal and birds in and out of Cirebon regency. He said that the major roads leading into Cirebon were being monitored closely in order to prevent sick chickens or other fowl entering the regency. Some 20 local government officers, including a number of veterinarians, were being deployed in 24-hour shifts at the Losari Animal Checkpoint in order to identify sick birds. "All fowl are being sprayed with disinfectant, while those suspected of being infected with bird flu are destroyed," said government official Didi Samsul Hadi.

Djumino, another government official, said that the government team checked between 20 and 40 trucks everyday, with each truck carrying 1,000 chickens on average.