Officials say Jakarta free of bird flu

Officials say Jakarta free of bird flu

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the government finally conceding that the country is in the
grip of an avian influenza (bird flu) outbreak after covering it
up for four months, the Jakarta administration is still playing
down the possibility of the disease reaching the capital.

"We have not discovered any cases of bird flu here. There's no
need to panic or fret. Outbreaks have occurred only in areas that
produce poultry, not in areas like Jakarta," said veterinarian
Heri Indiyanto, an official with the Jakarta Animal Husbandry
Agency, on Monday.

According to Heri, all live poultry entering the city must
first pass inspection at a designated slaughterhouse to guarantee
it is free of disease.

Should any poultry be found dead upon arrival at the
slaughterhouse, the carcass is burned.

"So far chickens have died only because of fatigue and not
bird flu," he insisted.

Jakarta Health Agency spokeswoman Evi Zelfino said her office
had not received any reports of bird flu in humans.

"The health agency and the animal husbandry agency are working
together to warn the public to remain vigilant against the
disease. We are spreading the word through our public health
centers across the city," she said.

The disease was first discovered here on Aug. 29, 2003, in
Pekalongan, Central Java, but the government remained tightlipped
until it spread through the country and dealt a severe blow to
poultry businesses.

A veterinary researcher at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture,
Marthen Malole, alleged that the government's silence was due to
pressure from several well-connected poultry businessmen who
feared their operations and exports would be disrupted.

Heri said the virus in chicken meat could be rendered harmless
if the meat was well cooked at a temperature above 80 Celsius
degrees while the virus in chicken eggs died if the eggs were
cooked at a temperature above 40 Celsius degrees.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests people
wash their hands before and after cooking poultry products and
cook them thoroughly at a temperature above 70 Celsius degrees.

A WHO investigation has found that direct contact with live,
infected poultry can result in bird-to-human transmission.

Heri said that his agency was doing more in-depth observation
to confirm if the city was free of the virus.

"We hope to announce the result of the observation next week."

Governor Sutiyoso said he had ordered the animal husbandry and
health agencies to thoroughly check whether there was any poultry
in the city with bird flu.

"I also asked them to check breeding farms here. They must
immediately publicly announce the result of their monitoring to
calm people down."