Indonesia to try vaccination program

Indonesia to vaccinate 300 million poultry

Jakarta (dpa) - The Indonesian government will press ahead with plans to vaccinate some 300 million poultry from the bird flu virus despite fears by some health officials that vaccines are not effective, a local report said Tuesday.

The plan will be done in stages with 60 million doses being prepared for vaccinations beginning this month and running through December, The Jakarta Post reported.

Bird flu outbreaks have been confirmed in 29 of 33 Indonesian provinces, affecting tens of millions of birds and killing 46 people - the highest death toll in the world.

A 2-year-old boy was admitted to hospital in West Java province on Monday suffering from bird flu symptoms, including high fever and respiratory problems.

"The target of the mass vaccination is 300 million chickens," Musni Suatmodjo, director of animal health services at the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, was quoted as saying.

The H5N2 vaccine being used is closely related to the H5N1 virus affecting poultry and also generally covers various other forms of H5 viruses, according to health officials.

However, there is debate among health officials in Indonesia as well as abroad on whether mass culls are more preferable to vaccines to prevent and contain outbreaks.

The Jakarta government has been reluctant to do widespread culling, partially because it does not want to compensate poultry farmers. The government came under fire for its initial slow response after bird flu was first discovered in Indonesia in 2003.

Last week, the government launched a national bird flu education drive to teach the country's 230 million people, in particular rural farmers and their families, about the virus and how to avoid being infected.

On Sunday, animal quarantine officers in the Maluku Islands seized 2 tons of fertilizer made from bird droppings, which will be incinerated if it is found to be contaminated with the virus.