May 7, 2009

Indonesian authorities have deployed teams across the country, some with the backing of experts, to pig farming areas in an effort to prevent a possible swine flu outbreak.

An official said in Mimika regency, Papua, the local animal husbandry agency has sent officials to disseminate information about the danger of the AH1N1 virus to residents, and to clean out pigpens with disinfectant and detergent.

Clemens M. Rumbiak, deputy head of the Mimika Animal Husbandry Agency said pig population in Mimika was very high as most households of local Papuans and newcomers alike had on average at least one pigpen, with the raising of pigs a lucrative business here.

Rumbiak said consumption of pork was also very high in Mimika, because locals had a tradition of holding stone-burning rituals where between 50 and 500 pigs could be consumed.

He also said piglets brought in to Mimika came mostly from Bali, Jayapura and Biak in Papua.

In Cirebon, West Java, head of the local animal husbandry agency Ali Effendi said on Thursday (May 7) two experts had been sent from the provincial administration in Bandung to help monitor pig farms and check on the health condition of the pigs.

Effendi said backup from experts is very beneficial to prevent any possible spread of the AH1N1 flu virus, adding that experts would also take blood samples for further lab tests.

In Kuningan regency, West Java, head of the local health agency, Endang Darmaji said officials had intensified inspections of pigs to be transported to Jakarta from East and Central Java at an animal examination post in Losari, which is also equipped with a lab to detect flu.

US$1 = Rp49.341 (May 7)