October 10, 2006

University records show bird flu in pigs in Indonesia's Bali
 

A team from an Indonesian university had discovered bird flu in pigs last July, local media reported Indonesia's agriculture ministry as saying.

The team from the veterinary faculty at Udayana University had discovered bird flu infected two pigs in the regencies of Gianyar and Tabanan in the resort island of Bali, the Koran Tempo newspaper said.

Pigs are a concern because they are susceptible to many of the viruses that infect humans. If pigs can catch bird flu, the virus may mutate to forms that could pose a serious threat to humans, an agriculture official said.

The local agriculture office said it had not receive any report from the university that any cases of bird flu in pigs occurred.

The agriculture ministry said bird flu had been detected in 30 out of 33 provinces in the country, with the latest cases in North Sulawesi province.

The agriculture ministry adds that although bird flu has spread to a wider area than the 29 provinces last year, the overall deaths in poultry was lower thanks to better vaccination and other control measures.