Avian flu keeps Bali on high alert for outbreaks

Ni Komang Erviani and Luh De Suriyani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | 10/22/2011 9:31 AM

The Bali Husbandry Agency warned people about the possible spread of the avian flu virus, as the infection has been found in poultry in the island’s capital city and eight other regencies.

“We have found infected poultry in all regencies. People should be aware of this,” agency head Putu Sumantra told reporters on Friday.

“So far this year, we have found at least 65 cases of avian flu in poultry, but they have been spread all over Bali. This is dangerous. We are taking immediate precautionary measures to prevent further spread.”

The agency is conducting a public campaign on the dangers of avian flu and is closely monitoring poultry transportation.

H5N1 virus infections were discovered earlier this year. Previous outbreaks occurred on the island in 2007 and 2008.

Sumantra said another outbreak might be imminent due to the current transition from the dry season to the rainy season, which could reactivate the virus, or due to the rising number of poultry being transported to the island.

Although the agency has strictly forbidden the transportation of poultry from outside Bali, there are rampant cases of smuggling because of higher demand and prices.

The agency has thwarted several instances of illegal poultry coming from off the island and been forced to conduct mass culling.

Bali Health Agency head Nyo-man Sutedja agreed that people should remain vigilant, especially since there had been many cases of sudden deaths of poultry due to the infection.

“Avian flu needs greater awareness compared to other diseases such as rabies, which only infects someone after being bitten by a dog, because the avian flu virus easily spreads through the air.”

Virologists said Jehem village in Bangli regency had been designated as a “red” area due to two positive cases in humans as well as rising cases among poultry in the village. The local administration temporarily banned the village from transporting poultry.

On Oct. 9, two children from Jehem, brother and sister, were killed by H5N1. Last week, their mother died of a bird flu-like illness, but laboratory test results were negative.

“Active and integrated surveillance should be conducted in all infected villages and their vicinities,” said I Gusti Ngurah Kade Mahardika, head of the biomolecular laboratory of Udayana University, who recently published his research on H5N1 in Jehem.

His research on a dead chicken showed that there were typical changes that confirmed that the chicken was infected with H5N1. The changes included lung inflammation and bleeding in the proventriculus (stomach gland), as well as necrosis in the duodenum and pancreas.

His research also showed that no other animals had been infected.

In his research after the 2007 outbreak, he found that the virus had infected other animals.

Researcher Sri Budayanti, who usually analyzes samples from humans, said, “There’s a possibility of more human victims, but we should further analyze the epidemiology.”

However, she had not received the latest epidemiology about the human cases in Jehem, including whether there were any indications of human-to-human transmission.

Since 2007, avian flu has killed four people in Bali.