March 4, 2005

Bird flu in Indonesia's Java province under control

A bout of bird flu that killed more than 12,000 chickens and quails in Indonesia's Java province is under control after officials distributed millions of doses of a locally produced vaccine against the disease.

Outbreaks of bird flu hit several parts of Indonesia last year, but no human infections have been reported in the country. The latest cases were reported in west Java province.

Sudarmono, director of Animal Hygiene at the Agriculture Department, said the disease was no longer spreading there.

"Bird flu in west Java is now under control, but owners of poultry have to be cautious," Sudarmono, who goes by a single name, told The Associated Press. "Farmers must report fresh cases to local officials."

Sudarmono said officials had distributed millions of doses of a locally produced vaccine against the disease.

Officials in west Java have identified the viruses involved in the outbreak there as H5N1 and H7N1.

The H5N1 strain has jumped to humans in some areas, killing a total of 46 people from Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.

The World Health Organization has warned that if the current avian flu virus mutates into a form that spreads easily among people, it could trigger a global flu pandemic. Avian flu emerged in Asia in 2003 and has killed millions of birds.