Jakarta bans backyard poultry from February 1

[Gert van der Hoek]

Jakarta bans backyard poultry from February 1 to fight bird flu

JAKARTA (AFP) - Backyard poultry will be banned from Jakarta from February 1 in an effort to fight bird flu, which has already killed four people in Indonesia this year, city governor Sutiyoso has announced.

He gave people two weeks to dispose of their birds before authorities kill them.

The latest fatalities raised Indonesia's death toll from the virus to 61, the highest in the world. The vast majority of bird flu cases have occurred after contact with infected poultry.

"As of today, 17 January 2007, until 31 January 2007, people are asked to voluntarily eliminate their pet fowls but by consuming it in the proper way... selling them, or destroying them," Sutiyoso said after leading a meeting on bird flu at the city hall.

"As of 1 February 2007 it will be forbidden to keep birds in residential environments," he added.

He said people who destroyed their poultry would be eligible for compensation of 12,500 rupiah (about 1.4 dollars) per bird.

The governor's decree covers chicken, ducks, swans, quails and pigeons.

Other birds kept as pets or for a hobby as well as those raised for research purposes would still be allowed but owners would have to obtain a certificate, issued free of charge by the animal husbandry office.

Authorities would conduct regular inspections and destroy any birds kept without the proper certificate, he said, adding that after January 31, no compensation would be paid for the slaughtered birds.

Concerned ministers and officials from the three worst-hit areas -- Jakarta, and the neighbouring provinces of West Java and Banten, met on Monday and decided to ban backyard farming in those areas.

Indonesia's efforts to curb the spread of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu have been hampered by the reluctance of some poultry owners, especially backyard farmers, to hand over their sick or potentially infected birds for slaughter.

The authorities, especially at provincial level and below, have so far been reluctant to clear residential areas of backyard poultry farms, saying it would be too costly for the government and the bird owners.

Officials had instead advocated the mass vaccination of poultry.

Scientists fear the H5N1 strain could mutate to become easily transmissible among people, which could in turn lead to a global human flu pandemic with a potential death toll of millions.

H5N1 has killed around 160 people worldwide since late 2003 and triggered the mass slaughter of tens of millions of poultry.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070117/hl_afp/healthfluindonesia_070117084442

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Jakarta bans backyard poultry from February 1

Indonesia to cull backyard chickens amid spike in bird flu cases

JAKARTA (AP): Indonesia will slaughter hundreds of thousands of backyard chickens over the next week in a bid to stem a surge in human deaths from the H5N1 virus, the health minister said Wednesday.

Siti Fadilah Supari said local governments will issue regulations banning the rearing of poultry in residential areas, signaling a more forceful approach in the nation worst hit by the virus.

She said owners would receive compensation of just under US$1.50 per bird, with the main focus of the cull in the capital, Jakarta, and densely populated areas to the west where most of Indonesia's human infections have occurred. (***)

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailtoplatest.asp?fileid=20070117135402&irec=0

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Jakarta bans backyard poultry from February 1

(above plus more)
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Chickens-to-be-culled-in-bird-flu-fight/2007/01/17/1168709827598.html

Chickens to be culled in bird flu fight
January 17, 2007 - 7:44PM</DATE>

Indonesia plans to slaughter hundreds of thousands of backyard chickens over the next few weeks in a bid to stem a surge in human deaths from the H5N1 bird flu virus, the health minister said.

Siti Fadilah Supari said local governments would issue regulations banning the rearing of poultry in residential areas, signalling a more forceful approach in the nation worst hit by the virus.

"We have to separate fowl from residential areas," she told reporters.

"That is what we have learnt from Vietnam. That country wiped out bird flu because its people followed the government's rules."

Supari said owners of chickens, ducks and other fowl would receive compensation of just under $US1.50 ($A1.9) per bird, with the main focus of the cull in Jakarta and densely populated areas to the west where most of Indonesia's human infections have occurred.

Nine hard-hit provinces in the sprawling archipelago will be included in the cull, Supari said.

Indonesia's cash-strapped government has come under fire for failing to make adequate efforts to fight H5N1 and has largely failed to follow through on earlier promises to stamp out the virus through mass culls.

In an early sign of possible confusion about the campaign, Supari said the cull would occur within the next week.

But Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said residents in the capital would have two weeks before officials began forcefully slaughtering birds.

"I will lead by example by killing the birds at my house," Sutiyoso said.

Indonesia has recorded 61 deaths from bird flu, four in the last week. The virus has killed at least 161 people worldwide since late 2003, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Bird flu remains hard for humans to catch.

But international experts fear it may mutate into a form that could spread easily between humans and potentially kill millions around the world, including in wealthy nations that have so far been spared human cases.

Until last week, Indonesia had not recorded any cases for six weeks - a lull that led some Indonesian officials to say they were succeeding in beating the disease.

The WHO cautioned that it was too soon to draw that conclusion.

.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Jakarta bans backyard poultry from February 1

Indonesia Bans Backyard Fowl in Capital to Control Bird Flu

By Karima Anjani

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's Jakarta government banned raising backyard fowl in residential areas in the capital city to halt bird flu infections.

Households are prohibited from raising chicken, pigeons, swans, ducks and quails starting Feb. 1, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso told reporters today. The city ruling came two days after the central government ordered provincial governments to cut the infection chain from poultry to human.

Contact with infected birds risks spreading the disease to humans. The prevalence of H5N1 among Indonesia's 300 million poultry raised in the backyards of the nation's 55 million households may explain why Indonesia has the most H5N1 fatalities in the world.

The H5N1 strain is known to have infected 267 people in 10 countries since 2003, killing 161 of them, the World Health Organization said on Jan. 15. The Southeast Asian nation has reported 61 deaths since July 2005. In the capital city of Jakarta alone, the H5N1 strain has infected at least 20 people, 18 of them fatally.

The practice of raising birds in backyards and near homes must change to improve health safety in the city, Sutiyoso said. People who keep birds as pets and for research purposes must obtain a certificate from the animal husbandry offices.

The Jakarta government will also relocate slaughtering houses, poultry farms and markets that sell live poultry to designated areas.

Indonesia will spend $61 million this year on efforts to eradicate the disease in poultry and prevent human infection. The budget is 9 percent higher than last year's $56 million. Donor countries and organizations pledged an additional $65 million this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Karima Anjani in Jakarta at kanjani@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 17, 2007 04:28 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=amGfQ2YUp2Tw&refer=asia

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Jakarta bans backyard poultry from February 1

Populations in panic over bird flu

Jan. 17 - Concern over the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus in poultry is rippling across Asia.

Further cases of outbreaks of the disease have been reported - leading one world health official to indicate that, on balance the battle against the virus is being lost.

Jennifer Marostica reports.

Soundbites:
Rinawati, a housewife in Jakarta
Peter Cordingley, WHO spokesman for the Asia-Pacific



http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoSt...99284f1d0f&WTmodLoc=PolNewsHome_C3_Top+News-7

 

[sharon sanders]

CAUTION - DISPOSE OF CHICKENS SAFELY!!!

CAUTION - DISPOSE OF CHICKENS SAFELY!!!

From the FAO - United Nations:



The avian flu virus can be transmitted through contact with poultry, and their droppings, feathers, intestines and blood.

It is very important to minimize contact with poultry and wild birds.

The greatest risk of infection is through the handling and slaughtering of live infected poultry.

Children are particularly vulnerable ? keep them away from poultry and do not allow them to pick up feathers or eggs​

.​

IF YOU MUST DISPOSE OF DEAD BIRDS YOURSELF
□ Get rid of carcasses safely by burning them or burying them deeply enough that dogs, cats and other
scavengers cannot reach them
□ Burn or bury feathers and other waste away from your farmyard

TAKE CARE WHEN SLAUGHTERING POULTRY/GAME BIRDS

Avoid home slaughtering​

but if you must:

□ Cover your nose and mouth with a clean cloth/face mask​

□ Be very careful and keep contact with feathers, blood, intestines, etc. to a minimum​

□ Wash your hands thoroughly after slaughtering​

□ Clean the slaughtering place thoroughly​

WHAT TO DO WITH SICK OR DEAD BIRDS
□ Report sick or dead birds immediately to the veterinary authorities (or local equivalent)

□Do not leave dead animals lying around​

□Do not throw dead animals into rivers, lakes or other bodies of water such as ponds/wells​

□ If you have a plastic bag, place the carcass in the bag; if you do not, take the carcass away from the​

rest of the flock and out of reach of children and others
□ Leave disposal of bird carcasses to the veterinary authorities (or local equivalent) and help only if
they ask
□ If there are no veterinary authorities (or local equivalent), seek help from your local community to
dispose of carcasses

□ Do not eat the carcass of a dead bird​

□ Do not sell the carcass of a dead bird


READ MORE HERE:

http://www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload//207623/FAO_HPAI_messages.pdf




















​

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Jakarta bans backyard poultry from February 1

Populations in panic over bird flu

Jan. 17 - Concern over the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus in poultry is rippling across Asia.

Further cases of outbreaks of the disease have been reported - leading one world health official to indicate that, on balance the battle against the virus is being lost.

Jennifer Marostica reports.

Soundbites:
Rinawati, a housewife in Jakarta
Peter Cordingley, WHO spokesman for the Asia-Pacific



http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoStory.aspx?isSummitStory=false&storyId=9259ceef138f3b2e230fcf51f486d499284f1d0f&WTmodLoc=PolNewsHome_C3_Top+News-7

More from Peter Cordingley, WHO, less alarming:

Europe warned over resurgence of bird flu
By John Aglionby in Jakarta

Published: January 14 2007 18:21 | Last updated: January 14 2007 18:21

The deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza is making a seasonal resurgence in Asia and could easily spread to Europe again this year, the World Health Organisation warned on Sunday.

The alarm follows four human deaths in Indonesia in the last five days, the first human case in China for six months (though the infected man has since recovered) and new poultry outbreaks in Vietnam ? despite a huge campaign against it ? and northern Nigeria.

?We are convinced that we?re in a repeat of last year and the year before when the virus began to get very active again [in the northern hemisphere winter] and spread from Asia into the Middle East and beyond,? said Peter Cordingley, the WHO spokesman for the western Pacific region.

Indonesia, where 61 people have died since 2005, remained the ?biggest flashpoint? but nowhere in the region ?has got it licked?. ?Most countries are becoming better prepared and the countries that were caught out last year, especially wealthier ones in Europe and close to Europe, we hope are going to be better prepared,? he said. ?But we?re still losing more than we?re winning.?

The strain detected in Asia is a mutation of last year?s but ?it is not showing any sign of moving to a strain that would be more dangerous to humans or have a greater likelihood of human-to-human transmission,? Mr Cordingley said.

All four human fatalities in Indonesia contracted the virus from infected birds, authorities say. Experts fear that H5N1 will combine with a human flu strain to mutate into a form that would cause a global human pandemic.

Tri Satya Naipospos, the deputy head of Indonesia?s bird flu commission and a persistent critic of the country?s efforts, said Jakarta was still not allocating adequate financial or human resources to the issue.

The latest outbreak in Vietnam, in six southern provinces, comes despite a widespread poultry cull and tight controls on birds that had resulted in no human cases since 2005.

In signs that neighbouring nations view south-east Asia as the most likely source of a pandemic, both China and Australia announced new assistance at a regional leaders? summit. Japan?s Miyazaki prefecture yesterday began the disposal of 12,000 chickens after confirming the first outbreak of avian influenza since January 2006 and tests will determine whether it is the deadly H5N1 strain.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e9f79c66-a3f9-11db-bec4-0000779e2340.html

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Jakarta bans backyard poultry from February 1

Jakarta backyard farming banned without compensation

JAKARTA (JP): Following the rapid increase of bird flu fatalities early this year, Jakarta administration decides to ban backyard farming among its residents without providing compensation to poultry owners.

The administration gives the owners of chickens, ducks, swans, pigeons and quails, two weeks to consume these fowls properly, sell them, or to simply destroy them from residential areas.

Only those owners with fowls infected with H5N1 virus would receive compensation as much as Rp 12,500 (US$1.5) per chicken or bird.

Starting February, the Husbandry and Fishery Agency would conduct door-to-door inspection and destroy these fowls forcefully without any compensation to residents.

"I hope all Jakartans could support this policy until the government declares that our region is free from bird flu. This is all for our own good," Governor Sutiyoso said Wednesday after leading a bird flu meeting, which also attended by officials from Health Ministry and the National Commission for Bird Flu.

Jakartans may still keep birds and fowls for hobby and research purposes but owners have to attain health certificate from local offices of the Husbandry and Fishery Agency, free of charge.

The agency would also destroy these pet birds if owners refuse to proceed the certificates.

The agency estimated that about half of 2,684 neighboring units in the city are populated with fouls. Each neighboring unit averagely resides about 1,000 fouls.

For the city's poultry industry, the administration would gradually relocate farms and slaughterhouses to designated areas, which are far from residential areas.

Rawa Kepiting in East Jakarta and several areas in Serang, Banten are among locations which are currently being considered by the administration.

The agency's head Edy Setiarto said that poultry industry relocation could not be done all at once because it involved at least 22,000 workers in the business.

"We could only remove those domestic breeders this year. We hope that slaughterhouse owners would voluntarily remove their business to the designated areas," he said.

The city is currently has about 1,200 legal and illegal slaughterhouses, 250 chicken depos, 27 broiler-chicken breeders, 284 domestic-chicken breeders and 229 duck breeders.

The city also receives 600,000 chickens from its neighboring areas every day.

The head of the National Commission for Avian Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness, Bayu Krisnamurthi, praised the administration's policy and hoped that other regions with already infected with bird flu could also implement the same effort.

"In other regions like West Java and Banten, banning backyard farms and relocating poultry industry should be easier because they still has a lot of non-residential areas," he said.

Indonesia is facing the second attack of bird flu early this month as temperatures drop during traditional flu season.

Four people have died of bird flu in Jakarta during the past week, pushing up the country's death toll from the virus to 61.

Most of the victims were believed to have had contact with infected birds. (Adisti Sukma Sawitri)


Source: Jakarta Administration

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20070117221002&irec=0