Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Bali ducks positive for bird flu, hundreds culled
DENPASAR, Indonesia, April 26 (Reuters) - Hundreds of ducks have been culled on Indonesia’s Bali island after samples tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, a senior veterinarian said on Wednesday.
The birds were culled in Gianyar regency on the popular tourist island and came from a farm and its surrounding areas.
“We burned 432 ducks yesterday, 392 of them came from that farm while the rest were owned by surrounding residents,” Dewa Nyoman Raka Jaya, head of Gianyar’s animal husbandry office, said by phone from the central Bali town.
“We assumed that all of them had the bird flu virus because all of the samples were positive.”
“Today, we are chasing chickens around the farm. We don’t know how many but we will burn them tonight,” Jaya said.