Jakarta maintain alert on bird flu virus

JAKARTA. The Jakarta city administration is maintaining an alert about the possible spread of the avian flu virus, following the deaths of about 20 infected chickens in Cilandak, South Jakarta, last week.

No humans were reported to have been infected last week by the bird flu.

Authorities from the North Jakarta and East Jakarta administrations on Wednesday carried out a number of operations in several places to find households that were still raising chickens and birds on their residential properties, which is illegal in the capital city.

In East Jakarta, city officers led by Makasar district head Ari Sonnjaya visited neighborhoods in Halim Perdanakusuma, removing chicken coops found in the residential areas. “We have to prevent the bird flu virus from spreading,” said Ari as reported by city-owned news portal beritajakarta.com on Wednesday.

Health authorities in Jakarta conducted a mass culling of poultry in the Cilandak sub-district, South Jakarta, last week, after the dead chickens tested positive for avian flu.

The raid was needed so that what happened in Cilandak would not happen in Makasar district, said Ari, adding that all chickens should be removed from the neighborhoods, except those that have been certified to be free from the bird flu virus.

Meanwhile, in North Jakarta other officers checked 324 birds and chickens, but they did not find any bird flu cases.

The head of North Jakarta’s Maritime, Agriculture and Food Sovereignty office, Agung Priambodo, said his team had visited 47 owners of chickens and birds in three subdistricts. “We did not find any bird flu cases during the operation,” he said, adding the operation involved 50 officers of the Public Order Agency, the police and his own office.