English
Indonesia
Hundreds of Chickens in Polewali Mandar Suddenly Died from Avian Influenza
Sulbar – Hundreds of chickens owned by farmers in Pekkabata administrative village, Polewali Mandar district, were found suddenly dead on Friday (6/7/2012). Before, all the chickens looked healthy.
Head of the Livestock Service Office of Polewali Mandar, Basir Halim said avian influenza was suspected to be the cause. “Testing by our officers in the field confirmed some of the chickens did die from avian influenza,” said Basir on Friday (6/7/2012) afternoon.
Basir said poor public awareness on how to dispose chickens that died from avian influenza is suspected to be the cause of AI emergence in this village. To prevent the disease from infecting other animals and human, Livestock Service officers are currently giving out disinfectants to farmers affected by the disease.
Unfortunately, preventive measures taken by the Service Office is seen ineffective. A traditional chicken farmer in Pekkabata, Sulfikar, says disinfectant is only sprayed on pens of people whose chickens had been infected. He thinks disinfectant spraying should be done in a 1 km radius from the incident site. Sulfikar admits he is worried that many farmers will throw away their dead chickens in their backyards/gardens and rivers.
(Junaedi | Editor: Farid Assifa)
Source: Kompas