JP/5/FLU

JP/5/FLU

Vaccination drive planned as bird flu returns

ID Nugroho
Surabaya/Jakarta

Bird flu, which ravaged the poultry industry in Asia several
months ago, has resurfaced in several parts of Indonesia, killing
thousands of chickens on Java island.

The government announced on Wednesday plans to launch a
massive vaccination drive in an effort to curb the spread of
avian flu.

Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, animal health director at the
Ministry of Agriculture, said his office would distribute as many
as 300 million doses of vaccine to poultry farms.

The campaign follows reports that thousands of chickens have
died in eastern Java in July.

"We can say that there have been new cases in several
districts in East Java," Naipospos was quoted by AP as saying.

"By vaccinating chickens, we can reduce the mortality rates
and reduce the spread of the virus," she added.

Indonesia joins Vietnam, China and Thailand in experiencing a
resurgence of bird flu in the past month.

Earlier this year, the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu swept
through Asia, ravaging the poultry industry and killing 24 people
in Thailand and Vietnam.

More than 100 million chickens and ducks across the region
were slaughtered, including upward of 10 million in Indonesia.

During the outbreak in February, Jakarta came under heavy
criticism for failing to alert the public to the threat, and for
being slow to respond with a mass cull and other measures to
contain the disease.

In East Java, poultry breeders have seen hundreds of their
chickens die in just the last week due to what is suspected to be
bird flu.

The concern is particularly acute in Kedungwaru, Tulungagung
regency, where the population of free-range, egg-laying and stock
chickens is about four million.

During the previous outbreak, some 4.7 million chickens died
from bird flu in East Java, with Malang, Tulungagung, Blitar,
Gresik and Lamongan to worst affected areas.

However, East Java husbandry office head Sigit Hanggono denied
on Tuesday that avian flu had returned.

He said the sudden deaths of hundreds of chickens in
Tulungagung had nothing to do with bird flu but was the result of
an illegally imported vaccine used by farmers.

"Many farmers here have been using the vaccine even though it
is actually not suitable for fowls, and that is why many chickens
have died," Sigit said.

His denial was challenged by the chairman of East Java's
Indonesian Fowl Breeders Association, Paul Iskandar, who said
that there was indeed a resurgence of bird flu. "Despite not
being as extensive as before, the virus has spread to several
poultry farms in East Java."

He acknowledged, however, that many breeders said they were
still not certain about what was killing their chickens.

Poultry breeders are trying to downplay the problem because
they are afraid people will stop buying their chickens, Paul
said.

He said their was no basis for blaming the chickens' deaths on
the illegally imported vaccine, arguing that the vaccine was a
viable alternative for farmers.

The farmers are choosing to buy the illegally imported vaccine
because the legal vaccine is being sold too expensively in the
local market, he said, while urging the government to legalize
the imported vaccine.

Paul said East Java was home to 10,000 poultry farmers and
required 120 million doses of vaccine for three stages of
vaccination per year, while the Pusvetma pharmaceutical center
could only provide 4.6 million doses per year.