T

he unhygienic, traditional handling of chickens consumed for ritualistic and everyday purposes has boosted cases of avian flu in Klungkung regency, an expert said.

I Gusti Ngurah Badiwangsa, head of Klungkung’s husbandry, fishery and marine office, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that a number of people and chickens were found to have been infected with avian flu soon after a big ceremony last week.

“We [the office’s staff] have monitored how, during rituals, people need more poultry for various offerings and consumption. Contact with the animals was open when they processed the chickens, the best time for getting the virus that causes bird flu,” he said.

All chickens would be cleaned and butchered in the river, contaminating its water and the water channel that feeds to the village. People usually do that without proper protection, he said.

“They should wear gloves when they process raw chicken meat; the blood and feces can transmit the H5N1 virus,” he added.

Some chickens were cooked while the others were presented raw as part of the offerings.

The traditional method of presenting chickens made it easy for anyone involved in the process to get infected by any diseases carried by the birds.

The sale of animals in traditional markets made the markets fertile places where germs and viruses could grow and quickly spread.

The first case of the H5N1 virus was initially detected in infected chickens sold at the Galiran poultry market in Semarapura in Klungkung, where around 6,000 chickens and other poultry were sold and distributed everyday to other parts of the island.

The avian flu outbreak has spread into three districts. Dozens of chickens purchased from the Galiran market were infected with the virus.

The Klungkung health agency has examined four residents who have shown early symptoms of avian flu such as cough and respiratory difficulties. However, they have not yet been affected by the virus, according to laboratory results.

Klungkung is one of the island’s centers for poultry production where the birds are raised in traditional farms and backyard farms.

Ketut Santhia Adhy Putra, a virologist at the Bali Veterinary Center (BBV), explained that the avian flu virus in Bali was still categorized as H5N1.

“We suggest that farmers and officials at local husbandry offices distribute the H5N1 vaccine. Do not mix the vaccine with the one intended for the H5N2 virus. The virus would mutate into a more virulent one,” the virologist said.

Putra said that the majority of avian flu cases were found in small-scale poultry farms in villages.

“The chickens roam free among the houses and other parts of the villages. They should be in cages to prevent possibly communicating the virus to other animals or human beings,” he said.

The province’s husbandry office said Bali was hit hard by an avian flu outbreak in 2004 when 722,000 chickens were infected by the H5N1 virus.  

In 2007, the number of chickens infected with avian flu dropped to 14,679. This year, 200 chickens in Tabanan, Badung and Klungkung were infected.