TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Avian flu reappears in South Sumatra
Avian flu outbreaks in Prabumulih and Palembang in South Sumatra have prompted the municipalities’ governments to call for a mass culling of animals infected or suspected to have been infected by the H5N1 virus
Change Size
A
vian flu outbreaks in Prabumulih and Palembang in South Sumatra have prompted the municipalities’ governments to call for a mass culling of animals infected or suspected to have been infected by the H5N1 virus.
The Prabumulih administration issued an alert after avian flu cases were recorded in eight subdistricts of the municipality.
The outbreak came as a shock after many thought the disease had been successfully curbed over the last several years.
Prabumulih municipal Horticulture, Agriculture, Husbandry and Fishery (PPKPP) Agency chief R.A. Hanunah said the alert was issued as a preventive measure to stop the virus from infecting
humans.
“At this moment we’re continuing to conduct dissemination activities, especially in the affected areas,” Hanunah said, Monday.
Without giving data on the number of animals culled, Hanunah called on local residents to take care of their poultry carefully by keeping them in sheds and not allowing the birds to roam freely through neighborhoods.
Doing so, she added, would facilitate observation of the animals and thus reduce the possibility of transmitting the virus to humans.
Apart from that guidance, she said, the agency also conducted a mass cleaning of poultry sheds in endemic areas.
There was also a mass culling of eggs laid by chicken and geese thought to haven been infected
by H5N1.
The infected subdistricts in the municipality are Prabumulih, Sukajadi, Wonosari, Cambai, Tugu Kecil, Gunung Ibu and Mangga Besar.
Palembang municipal Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry Agency head Sudirman Teguh said at least 25 birds have died from avian flu in the municipality.
There was a mass cleaning of poultry sheds in Kemang Manis, Ilir Barat I district after some dead birds tested positive for H5N1, Sudirman said.
“We have conducted follow-up measures by expanding the mass cleaning activities to a radius of 1 kilometer,” he said, Monday.
Similar measures were also enacted in other places, especially at bird markets such as the Palembang Bird Market.
To help tighten the flow of birds from other cities to Palembang, according to Sudirman, his agency has also set up a special working task force.
“We will cooperate with the Transportation Agency. Having the task force deployed at a number of locations hopefully will encourage the community to proactively report any suspected ccurrence of avian flu to the authorities,” he said.
