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mid a rise in bird flu cases among fowls this year, the government confirms there have been no indications of human cases.

 “People should report [to the government] any cases of mass deaths of flocks of birds. Farmers are also urged to conduct proper bio-security procedures and vaccination,” Muhammad Azhar, the coordinator of the avian influenza quick control unit at the Agriculture Ministry, said recently.

He explained that by conducting the preventive procedures, farmers could remain safe from the risk of avian influenza (AI) transmission. One simple measures, he said, was constructing a fence or wall to limit birds’ direct contact with the outside environment.

The ministry has also encouraged farmers to implement a proper vaccination program. This includes using legal vaccine products from the Agriculture Ministry, giving vaccines according to the proper schedule and using clean equipment during the vaccination process.

Data from the ministry in the first quarter of this year show that the 8,574 small and medium commercial farms in 10 provinces that received technical supervision and direction from the government recorded no cases of bird flu.

The Agriculture Ministry has also collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the fight against bird flu.

Live bird market surveillance was conducted to monitor avian influenza virus in live bird markets in large cities such as Greater Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan beginning in 2009. For instance, environmental samples were taken from markets selling live poultry or slaughtering poultry on-site.

“LBM surveillance is important to monitor the dynamics of AI viruses,” said James McGrane, the team leader of the FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases Indonesia.

 With continuous effort and collaboration, the trend of bird flu cases that affected birds has dropped significantly from year to year, Azhar said.

The ministry recorded 2,751 cases of avian influenza in birds in 2007. Four years later, the number dropped to 1,390 cases. In the first quarter of this year, the number stood at 188.

The number of cases recorded until July, however, showed a slight increase compared with 123 cases recorded in 2015 due to extreme weather during the transitional period between the rainy and dry seasons in March and April, which decreases the poultry’s resistance to disease, he explained.

Most of the cases of bird flu this year occurred in West Java, followed by Lampung and South Sulawesi. Some of the most recent cases happened in Sidrap, South Sulawesi, in which 26,931 ducks died, and in Banyuwangi, in which 1,600 chickens and ducks died.

 McGrane said the higher number of outbreaks in poultry might have been the result of a prior decrease in bird flu cases, which reduced farmers’ awareness of the threat.

“Moreover, knowledge of improved poultry husbandry is still low in backyard poultry farms,” he said, adding that in commercial poultry farms, awareness of correct and effective vaccination practices and farm bio-security still needed constant improvement.

In order to prevent bird flu in birds from spreading to humans, the Health Ministry is striving continuously to educate the public about bird flu, its modes of transmission and ways to prevent its transmission, ministry Director General for Disease Control Mohamad Subuh said.

 “This year, no cases of bird flu affecting humans have been recorded yet,” he said, adding that the number of cases had fallen from two deaths recorded in 2015.

With a target of seeing the country free of bird flu by 2020, the Health Ministry said it would strengthen the joint efforts involving all related sectors including the Agriculture Ministry, FAO and the community. (win)