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Jakarta Post

Islands in focus: Bali on alert over possible avian flu threat

  • The Jakarta Post

PREMIUM
  /   Wed, December 19 2012   /  11:39 am

Denpasar: Despite the fact that no new avian flu virus has been detected in Bali, experts are calling upon people to remain alert.

Masa Tenaya, a senior researcher at the Bali Veterinary Research Center in Denpasar, confirmed that the deaths of thousands of poultry in Jembrana last weekend were caused by a seasonal poultry disease called Newcastle disease (ND).

“Researchers have not yet found any signs of a new avian flu virus, which spread widely in Java, causing the deaths of thousands of ducks,” said Tenaya.

Newcastle disease is a contagious disease affecting many domestic and wild avian species and it is transmissible to humans.

First found in Newcastle in the United Kingdom, it is caused by a virus—called Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Its effects are notable in domestic poultry due to their susceptibility.

The exposure of humans to infect...