Bird flu kills 49,000 Makassar chickens, ducks
Antara News, Sunday, October 10, 2010 03:58 WIB
Makassar, S Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Bird flu has killed at least 49,000 chickens and ducks in South Sulawesi province over the past four months, a government official said.
Head of South Sulawesi Province`s animal husbandry office Murtala Ali said here Saturday he had ordered related authorities in districts and cities to destroy the infected chickens and ducks.
"We have also prohibited the transportation of chickens from infected areas to other places," he said.
The dead chickens and ducks were found in 11 districts and towns, namely Takalar, Makassar, Luwu Timur, Luwu Utara, Soppeng, Pinrang, Parepare, Sidrap, Barru, Bulukumba and Bone.
Chickens in other 13 districts and towns in South Sulawesi were declared "free from the bird flu virus", he said.
Besides destroying the bird flu-infected animals, Ali said his people had intensified the vaccinization of chickens, spraying chicken nests, and public awareness campaigns.
He said the high rainfall in the province could trigger the spread of bird flu virus to other chickens.
Therefore he had ordered related authorities to halt the transportation of chickens from infected areas to elsewhere in the province.
Despite the concerning situation, the bird flu virus did not endanger local residents, he said.
Four bird flu suspects being hospitalized at Wahidin Sudirohusodo General Hospital here had been confirmed free from the deadly virus infection, he said.
"Nobody has died of flu here over the past two years," he said.
Various parts of Indonesia remain vulnerable to bird flu.
The Balikpapan city government had even declared state of bird flu alertness on October 4, 2010 following the death of 96 chickens last September.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), avian influenza or "bird flu" is a contagious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs.
The WHO has warned that infection with avian influenza viruses could spread very rapidly among the poultry population.
Indonesia has been dealing with bird flu cases since 2005. However, the H5N1 virus is also known to have attacked chickens and birds in other Asian countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia, China, and Viet Nam.
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