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Authorities slaughter chickens close to site of bird flu infection in Jakarta
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-25 15:09
Bird flu has been found in chickens throughout the Indonesian capital, the
agricultural minister said Friday as authorities slaughtered some 400 fowl close
to the home of a young girl who died of the disease.
"It is very serious," said Anton Apriyantono. "Based on our research, the
virus has spread all over the city."
Bird flu has killed or forced the culling of hundreds of millions of birds in
Asia since 2003 and has jumped to humans, resulting in the deaths of at least 67
people.
An Indonesian government official throws bird
cages into fire during a mass cull in Utankayu of East Jakarta November
25, 2005, where it has been confirmed that a teenage girl died of bird flu
earlier this month in Jakarta. [Reuters] | In
Indonesia, the H5N1 strain of the virus has been found in 23 of 30 provinces,
and killed seven people. Unlike other countries, Indonesia does not routinely
cull birds, citing lack of funds.
But on Friday, authorities slaughtered about 400 chickens and other birds in
a residential area of Jakarta, close to the house of one of Indonesia's latest
human victims. Workers in protective masks slashed the throats of the birds, and
threw the carcasses on fire, along with coops and cages.
Compensation was paid to people whose birds were slaughtered, officials said.
Health experts are following the spread of the virus closely because they
fear it may mutate into a form that's easily passed between people and trigger a
pandemic, possibly killing millions globally.
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