One study currently ongoing in CIVAS is a study on the Detection of Avian Influenza in Poultry Collecting Facilities (PCFs) in DKI Jakarta. The study is now entering its 5th month. It was designed based on previous studies in 2007 and 2008 where samples from 192 dead sentinel found 95.31% of the samples positive for H5 with rt-PCR tests. Also in the previous study, 32 of 38 (84.2%) PCFs studied were AI infected or in other words H5 AI viruses were found present in 84.2% PCFs studied.

But results of the previous study could not explain the source of the virus present at the PCFs and its environment. Therefore this one year study in PCFs in Jakarta was designed to address that issue. Objectives of this study are (1) to detect the presence of AI viruses in the environment and poultry coming to PCFs, (2) to measure the frequency of AI infected birds coming to PCFs, (3) to identify the serology status of AI infected birds, especially layer chickens and spent parent stock, coming to PCFs, (4) to identify farms/areas from where AI infected birds come from, and (5) to identify patterns of AI incidences in one year, and (6) to measure the level of biosecurity application in PCFs and transportation vehicles.

Entering the 6th month of the study, sentinel chickens (chickens not vaccinated against AI) were placed to detect virus circulation in PCFs. The chickens were rested in Bogor for 1 week in a disease-free location (sterile) for climate adaptation and to also wait for test results of serum samples submitted to the Fish and Animal Health Center (BKHI) laboratory. All samples resulted negative titer for AI hence the sentinels could be distributed to all 40 PCFs studied in Jakarta. Sentinels were placed in each studied PCF starting 12 October 2009 and will be placed there for 3 weeks. Tracheal swab samples will be collected from every sentinel that died at the PCFs. Tracheal swab, serum, and environmental samples will be tested at the Fish and Animal Health Center laboratory in DKI Jakarta.