February 16, 2004

Indonesia Unconcerned As Chickens Hit By Bird Flu A Minority

Only 0.04% of poultry in Indonesia have been infected with bird flu, Agriculture Minister Bungaran Saragih said. This means out of the 1 billion chickens in the country, only 4.75 million were down with the deadly virus. 

Saragih said there was no cause for too much concern as the number of the infected chickens is relatively small.

He said infected chicken meat and eggs are safe for human consumption if properly cooked as the virus will be killed under certain temperature.

Chicken meat will be safe after being boiled under a temperature of 80 degrees C and eggs under 60 degrees C, he added.

The dangers of bird flu have been exaggerated causing anxiety among the public, he said when eating chicken meat together with the president and other cabinet members at the presidential palace in a bid to convince the Indonesian people that bird flu is not dangerous.