Due diligence the best weapon against a silent killer: Agency
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 08/13/2010
Despite only very few cases of avian influenza being identified in the city this year, the administration is warning residents of the possibility of a future outbreak.
The head the city?s Agriculture, Maritime and Animal Husbandry Agency, Jawilhija, said recent screenings of poultry samples in the city showed that 70 percent tested positive to bird flu.
?Seventy percent of samples taken from the faeces of thousands of birds were avian flu positive, even though the birds appeared healthy,? she told The Jakarta Post.
Jawilhija said it did not pose a danger to humans as long as the meat was cooked well.
- snip -
The administration has issued a poultry restriction bylaw that regulates poultry distribution in the city.
The bylaw includes the requirement of certificates for pet bird owners and the localization of poultry slaughterhouses to six areas on Jakarta?s periphery.
The bylaw, however, has yet to be implemented due to widespread public criticism of the plan earlier this year.
One pet bird owner, Rudi Pelung, 42, a resident of Pondok Bambu in East Jakarta, said all his birds, mostly chickens, had been certificated as avian flu-free.
?It is a part of my responsibility as a bird enthusiast. I have to worry about my pets,? said Rudi, who owns 25 birds.
He said to get a certificate, officers from the agency would come and check the facilities provided for the birds, the birds themselves and whether they had been vaccinated.
- snip -
Hasan Helmi, who owns 60 pigeons, said he tried to prevent his pets from avian flu by regularly feeding them vitamins and medication.
Every six months their faeces are checked to receive the free avian flu certificates.
?The pigeons are an asset, I have to make sure they are in the best condition,?
According to Jawilhija, her agency has awarded certificates to 30,000 birds across the city.
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Healthy looking chickens and other birds testing positive for avian influenza, but otherwise are a-symptomatic, seems to be the new normal in a number of regions in Indonesia.
In Jakarta you can't have a bird without a certificate, stating the bird is "free of bird flu".
If 70% is tested positive, I wonder what happens with these birds, did not read they are culled?
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 08/13/2010
Despite only very few cases of avian influenza being identified in the city this year, the administration is warning residents of the possibility of a future outbreak.
The head the city?s Agriculture, Maritime and Animal Husbandry Agency, Jawilhija, said recent screenings of poultry samples in the city showed that 70 percent tested positive to bird flu.
?Seventy percent of samples taken from the faeces of thousands of birds were avian flu positive, even though the birds appeared healthy,? she told The Jakarta Post.
Jawilhija said it did not pose a danger to humans as long as the meat was cooked well.
- snip -
The administration has issued a poultry restriction bylaw that regulates poultry distribution in the city.
The bylaw includes the requirement of certificates for pet bird owners and the localization of poultry slaughterhouses to six areas on Jakarta?s periphery.
The bylaw, however, has yet to be implemented due to widespread public criticism of the plan earlier this year.
One pet bird owner, Rudi Pelung, 42, a resident of Pondok Bambu in East Jakarta, said all his birds, mostly chickens, had been certificated as avian flu-free.
?It is a part of my responsibility as a bird enthusiast. I have to worry about my pets,? said Rudi, who owns 25 birds.
He said to get a certificate, officers from the agency would come and check the facilities provided for the birds, the birds themselves and whether they had been vaccinated.
- snip -
Hasan Helmi, who owns 60 pigeons, said he tried to prevent his pets from avian flu by regularly feeding them vitamins and medication.
Every six months their faeces are checked to receive the free avian flu certificates.
?The pigeons are an asset, I have to make sure they are in the best condition,?
According to Jawilhija, her agency has awarded certificates to 30,000 birds across the city.
----------------------------------
Healthy looking chickens and other birds testing positive for avian influenza, but otherwise are a-symptomatic, seems to be the new normal in a number of regions in Indonesia.
In Jakarta you can't have a bird without a certificate, stating the bird is "free of bird flu".
If 70% is tested positive, I wonder what happens with these birds, did not read they are culled?