Bird flu virus has reportedly killed tens of chickens of residents in six villages of Kepahyang district, Bengkulu Province, over the past two months. At least 75 chickens had perished believed to be caused by the bird flu virus, ANTARA quoted Coordinator of Bengkulu Province's Bird Flu Monitoring Center Emran Kuswadi as saying. All of the dead chickens were found in six villages of three sub-districts, Kepahiyang district, he said. "We have examined the remaining alive chickens in the infected villages. We conclude that the dead chickens are positively caused by the H5N1 (bird flu) virus," he said. The bird flu-hit villages were Bandung Baru, Tangsi Baru, Kepahyang Indah, Taba Santing, Penanjung Panjang Atas and Pensiunan. They were located in the sub-districts of Kabawetan, Tebat Karai and Kepahyang, he said. Kuswadi said his men had burned at least 56 dead chickens and their cages, and then buried them. These chickens were found in the villages of Bandung Baru, Taba Canting and Penanjung Panjang Atas. In halting the spread of bird flu virus to human, the Bengkulu Province's Bird Flu Monitoring Center officials had conducted tests to chickens sold at local markets, he said. From five chickens tested, the results showed that they remained free from the bird flu virus, he said. Local authorities had also taken anticipative measures, including spraying chicken cages to keep them clean, he said. The bird flu attacks remain a serious problem in almost all provinces in Indonesia particularly during the rainy season. The bird flu virus attacking the country is classified as "highly pathogenic avian influenza". According to the World Health Organization (WHO), avian influenza or "bird flu" is a contagious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. The WHO has warned that the infection with avian influenza viruses could spread very rapidly through poultry flocks. Indonesia has 33 provinces. Only three have been confirmed free from the threat of bird flu viruses. Last April, the Arifin Achmad General Hospital in Riau province admitted three suspected bird flu patients. Indonesia has been dealing with bird flu since 2005. However, the H5N1 type influenza is also known to have attacked chickens and birds in other Asian countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia, China, and Vietnam.
