Jakartans know little about infectious bird flu

Jakartans know little about infectious bird flu

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite comprehensive media coverage on the outbreak of avian
influenza, or bird flu, in Asian countries, it seems many
Jakartans remain ill-informed on the disease.

At Petak Sembilan Market in West Jakarta people examined live
chickens, claiming that a bird's appearance was a good indicator
of its health.

"I'd rather buy live chickens after watching the news. It said
that as long as chickens don't have blue combs, red eyes and
feet, then they're healthy," said Sherly, who was shopping at the
market on Wednesday.

Lanny, who was shopping at Pancoran Market in Kota, West
Jakarta, agreed with Sherly, saying she could pick a healthy
chicken in the same way she selected fresh fish.

"If I buy a dead chicken, I won't know if it is infected with
bird flu. But if I buy a live one, I'll know if its physically
healthy. Besides, the news says it's OK to eat chickens as long
as they're properly cooked," she said.

Sherly and Lanny are unaware that processed meat would
actually be a safer option. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO) the disease is believed to have been passed on
to humans by direct contact with sick birds.

Maria, who was buying groceries at Krukut Market in West
Jakarta, decided not to buy any chickens.

"The news on TV say that it's better to avoid eating chicken.
There is no guarantee that our chickens are bird-flu free," said
the 75-year-old woman.

She said she would still purchase eggs, although it had not
been explained to her that eating eggs was also risky.

Head of the meat products and health unit of the Jakarta
Husbandry, Fishery and Maritime Affairs Agency, Hery Indyanto,
said chickens with bird flu exhibited similar symptoms to those
of the common flu.

"The main characteristics are a blue comb, cough, difficulty
breathing, weakness, drooling and red feet," Hery told The
Jakarta Post.

However, he said, people should not be worried as long as they
bought chickens in supermarkets and traditional markets. He
asserted that chickens coming into Jakarta were accompanied by
registered letters stating that they were healthy.

Yet, Tarjo, a chicken seller in Palmerah Market in Central
Jakarta, said that he had bought his chickens from a distributor
in Ciputat, South Jakarta -- where three slaughterhouses were
found not to be in compliance with standards set by the Ministry
of Agriculture.

Hery advised people to buy chickens from vendors inside the
traditional market, and not "the ones selling chickens outside
the market or on the sidewalk."

So far, the agency has only advised people to cook chicken
meat and eggs properly -- at temperatures of above 80 Celsius
degrees for meat and above 60 Celsius for eggs -- to avoid being
infected by the virus.

The government has confirmed that avian influenza, which has
been killing millions of chickens here, is the dangerous H5N1
strain that can also kill humans. The incubation period of the
virus, which has killed 14 people in Thailand and Vietnam, is
seven days.

After months of cover-up, the Indonesian government, after a
regional meeting in Bangkok last week ordered farmers to cull
infected chickens.