Indonesia bird flu poultry death rate rises

Last Updated: 2006-07-06 16:56:34 -0400 (Reuters Health)

JAKARTA - The poultry death rate from the H5N1 avian flu virus in Indonesia, the country with the most human bird flu deaths this year, is worsening, possibly due to poor vaccination coverage, a senior government official said on Thursday.

Mathur Riady, director-general of livestock production at the agriculture ministry, said one million fowl, half of them quail, died of bird flu in the first three months of 2006.

In 2005, deaths for the year as a whole were 1.2 million.

"Based on the data, there is a tendency of a rise in bird flu-related deaths in poultry. It may be caused by low vaccination coverage, particularly in small farms and backyard chickens," Riady told reporters.

"But it may also be because the reporting system on poultry deaths is getting better."

The rise in poultry deaths caused by bird flu could increase international concern over Indonesia's effort to combat the virus, which according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) has killed 131 people across the globe since 2003.

In Indonesia, 40 people have died from the virus, endemic in poultry in nearly all the country's 33 provinces.

The government has so far shied away from mass culling, citing lack of funds and impracticality, with vaccination a preferred method to prevent the spread of bird flu among poultry.

Animal health experts say the large number of backyard farms and lack of resources are major impediments for effective vaccination in Indonesia, a sprawling country of 17,000 islands stretching across 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles).

It is common for households in the country to keep a handful of chickens in their yards for personal consumption or extra revenue. The National Commission of Avian Flu Control and Preparedness estimates there are around 300 million such backyard chickens.

Riady said the agriculture ministry is holding a tender to buy 50 million vials of bird flu vaccine.

"The government has around 100 million vials but they are running out, so we are looking for addition of 50 million vials," he said.

The government will also expand door-to-door checks on poultry and birds -- which currently focus on the main island of Java -- to Sumatra and Bali, Riady said without elaborating.

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Thai villagers eat dead chickens despite warnings

Last Updated: 2006-07-06 12:30:02 -0400 (Reuters Health)

BANGKOK - Thailand will step up its bird flu awareness campaign after villagers have ignored the government's advice and handled and ate chickens that died mysteriously, the country's heath minister said on Thursday.

"It is obvious right now that we have a failure," Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat told reporters after a meeting of 200 government officials involved in fighting the virus.

Thailand, once among the countries worst hit by the H5N1 virus, has not had a human death since December 2005 and no new outbreaks among poultry for 239 days.

But authorities fear H5N1 -- which has killed at least 131 people since late 2003, including 14 Thais -- could easily re-emerge if the public becomes complacent.

Those concerns intensified this week when a 7-year-old girl fell ill with flu-like symptoms after coming into contact with dead chickens.

The girl from a village in the province of Pichit, 340 km (210 miles) north of Bangkok, later tested negative for H5N1.

But others in the village handled and ate about 20 dead chickens and ducks. Authorities culled another 200 birds before lab tests confirmed the deaths were caused by cholera.

Phinij said the incident showed the difficulty of educating rural folk who are still afraid to tell authorities about suspicious bird deaths for fear their flocks will be culled or quarantined.

"It was extremely risky and we would face a serious problem if it was bird flu," he said of the Phichit villagers who ate the dead birds.

H5N1 re-emerged in Asia in 2003 and is now endemic in many parts of the region.

Health experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that jumps easily between people and start a global flu pandemic.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.