www.poultryindonesia.com . INDONESIA reported fewer deaths from bird flu in 2009, but health specialists warn that the risk to humans remains high. Indonesia's Health Ministry said 20 people were infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus last year and 19 cases were fatal. The country recorded 24 cases in 2008, 20 fatal. “There has been a lull recently. We have not had positive cases since November,” Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said. “The trend is similar across the world. Some diseases are seasonal, and we have to continue to be vigilant," she said.

Sedyaningsih said effective surveillance and measures to control the disease in poultry had contributed to the decrease. However, Gregory Härtl, a WHO spokesman in Geneva, told IRIN: “Our risk assessment has not changed,” with the number of deaths in 2009 very similar to 2008.
According to WHO data, globally, 32 people died of bird flu last year, against 33 in 2008. Härtl noted that “governments are very aware of the challenge and threat posed by H5N1 and are reacting well”.

Agus Wiyono, director of animal health at Indonesia's Agriculture Ministry, said there had been no major outbreaks of bird flu in fowl over the past three years.
Participatory Disease Searching and Response (PDSR) teams were working to monitor and report cases of bird flu in 70,000 villages, with real-time data available in 10,000 villages, Wiyono said. “If there are new cases, they will be reported to PDSR. No reports mean there are no new cases of avian influenza,” he said. Only two of the country's 33 provinces – North Maluku and Gorontalo – are free from bird flu, while West Kalimantan will soon be declared bird-flu free, he said.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that 134 villages under surveillance were positive for H5N1 in poultry in October 2009, and the virus was endemic on Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi islands, according to WHO. However, Chairil Anwar Nidom, a microbiologist at Universitas Airlangga in Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java Province, cast doubt on the effectiveness of the reporting system. “It's likely that cases in several regions have gone unreported. The reporting system isn't very good,” he said. “If we look at the method of transmission, from birds to humans, the situation may have not improved. The risk for humans has not decreased,” he said.

In 2007, backyard chickens were banned in the capital Jakarta and authorities announced plans to relocate poultry farms and slaughterhouses from the city by April this year. “So far it has not been carried out seriously. I think the Jakarta plan can be used as a yardstick to measure how successful our efforts are to curb bird flu,” Nidom said. “If Jakarta succeeded, other regions would follow suit.”

Indonesia needed to set up a new body after the National Commission on Avian Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness is disbanded in March this year, when its mandate expires, Nidom said. “The commission has been at the forefront of public education on bird flu. Unless there's a replacement, the public awareness campaign is likely to take a backseat,” he said.

JAKARTA has rejected Kuala Lumpur’s offer to export chickens because Indonesia still could step up its poultry products to meet its own needs, a senior official said.
Director General for Animal Husbandry Tjeppy D Soedjana said last month that the Malaysian offer was made when he met Malaysian Minister for Agriculture and Industry Moh Bin Omar.
The director general said he was told by Omar that Malaysia had been freed from bird flu. He said that based on Law No. 18 / 2009 on animal husbandry, import could not be carried out if production at home could already meet the domestic demand.

Soedjana said that production at home in the form of day old chicks (DOC) reached 17 million per week. The production capacity is 40 million DOC per week so that production at home still could be increased. "The need for chicken meat in the country depends on seasons such as in the run up to and during religious holidays. During these days demand is high," he said.
He said that so far, poultry markets were found in big cities, particularly for live chickens. "Isolated areas are not taken into account by chicken producers," he added.

However, relations between Malaysia and Indonesia in the field of agriculture move one step further with the widening of cooperation in new areas which can benefit both parties.
The cooperation, among other things, involves the fields of research and development (R&D), technology and capacity building in agro-based industries, herbal industry, and horticulture which are considered to be capable of maintaining product quality in both countries and continue to compete both at the regional and global levels.

In addition, both countries have agreed to widen cooperation in looking after the welfare and well-being of fishermen who are facing problems due to cross-border fishing in the waters of both countries. Malaysian Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister is happy with the outcome of the discussions held with the Indonesian government at the central, provincial and district levels on cooperation and investment in agriculture.

The minister and his delegation comprising senior ministry officials and senior officials of a government-linked company were in Indonesia to enhance cooperation and look at investment and business opportunities in agriculture for companies from both countries. "I see there are potentials for business opportunities for Malaysian companies to invest in agricultural activities in the republic. The fields include cattle farming, paddy cultivation and fisheries and marine industries," he said.

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