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Avian Influenza Outbreak in Bone
Watampone – Avian Influenza is infecting chickens owned by citizens of Watampone city. The incident was reported by citizens of Lingkungan Ponceng, Manurunge administrative village, Tanete Riattang subdistrict, to animal health officers yesterday. The H5N1 virus was killing laughing cocks owned by citizens.
Poceng resident, Musbir, said people reported the incident because their chickens were suddenly dying in large numbers despite the absence of disease symptoms. Scores of chickens have died in the last few days. Tamsi, a laughing cock farmer, said he lost 8 chickens in a day. The chickens showed no sign of disease. The economic loss suffered by this incident is great because the price of a laughing cock could reach Rp 1 million per cock.
Laughing cocks are often competed because their calling voice sounds like human laughter. After receiving the report, officers from Bojong Animal Health Post (Poskeswan) immediately visited the site and conducted rapid tests. Head of Bojong Poskeswan, Dr. Konni, then announced the laughing cocks were AI positive. He instructed citizens to burn and bury dead birds, and no consume sick chickens because there is a risk of human transmission through meat and blood.
Citizens are also advised to stay vigilant because Bone is avian influenza endemic. The simplest way to prevent this disease is to house chickens or vaccinate every 3 months. Also when buying chickens at the market, it should be separated from the old chickens to ensure the new chicken is disease free. Sudden chicken die-off in Bone has occurred several times, but previous cases were not caused by avian influenza. (yos naiobe)
Source : Seputar Indonesia