Cirebon moves against bird flu

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.