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.