Vaccines 'key to curbing bird flu'

The National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Preparedness says it has found the way forward in the fight to control avian influenza.

The committee plans to compile all recommendations given by experts, especially those on vaccination, on ways to battle the disease.

"We have decided that vaccination is still needed and will become part of our roadmap in handling the disease. But we will focus more on bio-security. People tend to think that after the vaccination, all problems are solved. We need to familiarize people more on bio-security," said the committee's chief Bayu Krisnamurthi.

Bayu was speaking at the end of a four-day seminar and meeting of experts on avian influenza on Thursday.

He said vaccinations should be integrated into all poultry sectors. Previously, he said, the larger poultry sectors vaccinated their chickens themselves, while the government only focused on backyard farming, the smallest poultry sector.

"We will use two approaches to integrate vaccination: area and supply-chain approaches. If an area that is infected with bird flu has several poultry sectors, they will be handled together," he said.

The supply-chain approach addresses infected chickens being shifted from one sector to another.

Bayu said three variations of the H5N1 virus can be found in Indonesia: the South Sulawesi, Bali and Sumatra strains. He added that the three types are also found on Java.

"The most effective way to prevent the disease is to integrate the vaccination with a bio-security program. The vaccine used should be compatible with the virus (strain) found in the field, because there is no universal vaccine for avian influenza," Bayu said.

The vaccinations will be carried out only on sick chickens and under veterinary supervision. Other poultry will be targeted further into the vaccination process, he said.

Bayu said a specific law on animal health required composing to respond to obstacles in the field.

"The Association of Indonesian Veterinarians has drafted a bill on animal health. We have presented the bill to the House of Representatives. It will become a benchmark on avian influenza prevention for all ministries. The bill will also (handle) backyard farming," Bayu said.

Meanwhile, the secretary at the Directorate General of Livestock at the Agriculture Ministry, Tjeppy D. Soedjana, said a new law is needed to replace the existing 1967 law, which he said is incapable of responding to current developments in animal health.

"The House will start the (bill's) deliberation next Monday. We hope that it will be finished by the end of this year," Tjeppy said.

The bill stipulates that the community has a responsibility to report the outbreak of any animal diseases to authorities. It also calls for the formation of a veterinary authority at the regency and municipality levels.

"Besides bird flu, the bill also regulates other animal diseases such as anthrax," Tjeppy said.





Source : www.thejakartapost.com