Amid reports that avian influenza ( bird flu ) is on the rise, the fight against bird flu appears to be failing more than a decade after the virus was first detected.

There were 148 cases of bird flu reported in the first four months of 2016 alone, a sharp increase from the 123 cases reported throughout 2015, according to Agriculture Ministry data.

"Lack of public awareness has been the main contributing factor to the continued circulation of the virus, especially among poultry farmers who don’t implement the right measures to control the spread of the disease," said the Agriculture Ministry's director of animal health services I Ketut Diarmita in a press conference on Monday.

Extreme weather changes related to the El Nino effect have left the poultry population more vulnerable to the virus due to declining immunity, he added.

West Java and Lampung have consistently reported the highest number of cases since the beginning of 2015.

The Ministry recorded 56 cases in West Java from January to April this year, while 26 cases were recorded in Lampung during the first four months of 2016.

Other areas to have reported cases of bird flu this year include South Sulawesi ( 20 ), North Kalimantan ( 14 ), Central Java ( 7 ), East Java ( 6 ) and Banten ( 5 ).

"Notably, Java remains as the region with the highest number of recorded cases, with ducks and layers the predominantly those to have been infected," Diarmita said.

Government monitoring indicates that the rise occurred during the rainy season, he added, citing humidity as the reason for the increase.

The ministry issued a circular on Feb. 12 to increase awareness of the disease, listing measures to be taken to control the HPAI, Highly Pathogenic Asian Avian Influenza A ( H5N1 ), virus.

The government had hoped to raise key action pointers to address the issue, he added. Pointers included urging the community to perform three rapid actions ( detect, report and respond ), proper vaccination of flocks and to implement effective biosecurity at farm-level as well as along the poultry market chain.

One of the biggest challenges faced by the government is the fact that many commercial and backyard poultry farmers lack knowledge of proper maintenance in livestock farming and transporting, Diarmita continued.

The highest recorded number of bird flu infected poultry in Indonesia was in 2007 with 2,751 cases. This number was followed by 2,293 cases in 2009 and 1,502 cases in 2010.

James McGrane, the team leader of The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO )'s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases ( ECTAD ) Indonesia applauded Indonesia's progress.

However, he urged the public to remain alert and emphasized the importance of applying the necessary measures recommended by the government, including implementing biosecurity and proper vaccination. 

Ministry data confirmed that 199 people were infected with bird flu from 2005 to 2016. According to the data, 167 of those cases proved to be fatal.

In 2015, two cases of human infection were detected and both people died as a result of the infection.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by Liza Yosephine

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