Governor plays down bird flu scare

Governor plays down bird flu scare

BANDUNG: West Java Governor Danny Setiawan said on Monday that
isolation of the all of the province's chicken farms was not
necessary because only a small number of farms were affected by
bird flu.

He said that he had requested a review of the policy from the
directorate general of production and farming supervision at the
agriculture ministry on the move to isolate all the farm animals
from West Java. South Sulawesi's farms were also ordered to be
islolated last week.

"They (the ministry) have confirmed that not all chickens have
to be isolated, only those in affected areas," he said.

Head of the health subdivision at West Java's animal husbandry
office, Musni Suatmodjo, claimed that bird flu had mostly
affected quails and was no longer found in the province.

The cases occurred between January and early March of this
year in four areas: Subang, Cirebon, Indramayu and Sukabumi;
affecting over 16,000 fowl.

The governor said the number of affected chickens was small,
particularly in relation to the millions in the province. -- JP