August 20, 2007

Indonesia culls poultry in Bali

Indonesia' s Bali province has culled a total of 5,286 chickens following the death of a local resident infected by the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The cull will continue for one week in areas within one kilometer radius of the bird flu victim's home and its surroundings in Jembrana district, Antara news agency quoted head of the Jembrana agricultural, forestry and fishery office I Gusti Sanjaya as saying.

The victim died Aug 12 on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, the first bird flu case on the world famous resort island.

A report of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said recently around 60 percent of all Indonesian households keep an estimated 300 million birds in their backyards.

To date, 319 people from a dozen countries have been infected with the virus. Of them, at least 191 have died, including 83 in Indonesia alone.