UNAIR NEWS – Poultry and Bird Veterinary Interest Group, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) held a webinar, Kuliah with Ubur (KUTUB), on Monday, May 1, 2023. The webinar raised the issue of Avian Influenza: Monitor, Examine, and Prevent the Spread of Avian Influenza.
Virology lecturer at UNAIR Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Martia Rani Tacharina drh Msi explained that the first discovery of the Avian Influenza virus occurred in America in 2022 and was transmitted through poultry. Similar cases then occurred in Chile to Cambodia, and even claimed lives.
“If you look in the WHO report, in 2023 in Cambodia, there were two infected and one died. If we read here, 136 fatal cases attack humans. Fatal means resulted in death,” she said.
She continued that the Avian Influenza virus that infected humans has not been detected in Indonesia. Nevertheless, she said the virus appeared in Kalimantan and infected poultry.
“In Indonesia, the first case was Peking duck in South Kalimantan in May 2022. That’s been confirmed,” she added.
Late action
Martia said that one of the causes of Avian Influenza infecting humans was the delay in prevention. According to her, the virus must be overcome while still infecting animals.
“The weakness of almost everyone worldwide, if the outbreak is still in animals, it is not noticed. However, as soon as it attacks humans, WHO takes action that requires the urgency of handling this AI outbreak,” she explained.
For these reasons, she put forward several steps to control the spread of Avian Influenza so that the virus does not infect humans, especially in Indonesia. The first step is regular and integrated monitoring.
“So there must be cooperation between breeders, poultry traders, the ministry of agriculture, the animal husbandry service, testing centers, and also quarantine,” she explained.
Furthermore, optimizing vaccination and stamping out. The breeders can do this step regularly.
“Vaccine administration must be regular and timely. Because if it’s antibodies, those antibodies need to be improved and need to be boosted. So before it goes down, it is maintained high.”
“Stamping out by means of depopulation with euthanasia using CO2. So we have to stun them first with CO2, then burn the carcass,” she continued.
The last is reporting and counseling. If there is a suspected case of Avian Influenza, the public can immediately report it to the relevant agency. In addition, the government and related agencies must also disseminate the information about Avian Influenza to the public. (*)
Author : Muhammad Badrul Anwar
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
