City takes proactive stance over bird flu

City takes proactive stance over bird flu

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Aside from relying on tipoffs from people about bird flu cases
found in their neighborhoods, the Jakarta administration has
started taking more active measures to contain the spread of the
deadly virus by launching a random monitoring operation.

"Besides receiving complaints from people over suspected bird
flu cases, we also carry out random checks on birds in several
areas to spot birds infected with avian influenza," Central
Jakarta Mayor Muhayat told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Once the officers find any infected birds through a quick
blood test, Muhayat said, they would immediately kill the birds
without requiring laboratory tests to confirm the presence of the
virus.

"Further tests means higher costs and more time. We cannot
afford that. That's why we have to react swiftly to prevent the
spread of the virus to humans," he asserted.

Central Jakarta is a priority municipality in the capital
since central government offices, national and foreign companies
and foreign embassies are located there.

The concern of the administration over the bird flu outbreak
has reached new heights after it discovered infected birds in
seven of 20 subdistricts tested for the virus, predicting that
cases in many more areas would be found as monitoring continued.
East Jakarta had the highest cases -- with five subdistricts,
while North Jakarta and West Jakarta had one infected subdistrict
each.

"All five municipalities have been told to conduct random
monitoring as a standard operating procedure to contain the bird
flu outbreak simultaneously here," Muhayat asserted.

The Central Jakarta municipal administration killed nine
birds, mostly pigeons, in Pegangsaan subdistrict near the elite
residential area of Menteng over the weekend after the officers
discovered birds infected by avian influenza.

"We are also intensifying our monitoring of the health of
birds at the National Monument Park (Monas)," he added.

Monas is home to at least 800 pigeons after the administration
released them early this year to beautify the park. Wild pigeons
can also be found in several other parks in Central Jakarta,
including Suropati park in Menteng.

Head of the Central Jakarta Animal Husbandry Office, Sigit
Budiharjo, said his officers also found dozens of birds in
Menteng infected with the virus earlier last week.

"We culled them right away," Sigit said.

Muhayat also urged the residents to help inform officers about
residents who keep birds or chickens at their homes so that his
officers could vaccinate the birds.

The World Health Organization-sanctioned laboratory in Hong
Kong has confirmed 12 bird flu cases in Indonesia to date. Seven
people have died from the virus.

The last two people to have contracted avian influenza were
from Utan Kayu in East Jakarta, and Sunter Jaya in North Jakarta
respectively.

Both were believed to have been infected by sick birds in
their neighborhoods.