Villagers Team Up with Government to Fight Bird Flu

According to this news source, "[t]hrough a series of workshops on avian influenza detection and prevention, villagers in Bali [Indonesia] have joined forces with a team comprising local administration officials, virologists and [United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization] UNESCO in fighting bird flu virus. The program has also given poultry cages made from special nets worth Rp 1.2 million (US$160.60) to local breeders in three villages..." The workshop series was organised for villagers on topics including stopping the spread of the virus, proper ways to prepare and cook poultry, and early symptoms of infection. The area selected for the workshops has experienced outbreaks of the H5N1 virus that included one human fatality. The workshops were focused on increasing public awareness through information and education, changing behaviours to make basic prevention know-how into daily habits, and teaching people to identify and report symptoms of the infection.


Local health centre officials encouraged patients to report high fevers and receive medications for treating bird flu immediately for prevention of serious health consequences. The Head of Beraban village said he had established a working team tasked with monitoring the existence of the virus on a daily basis. The team, comprising local officials and community leaders, monitors poultry at traditional markets and poultry entering from neighbouring regencies. He said the village administration had issued a local regulation require villagers to relocate poultry away from houses. The rule also makes it mandatory for the farmers to keep birds inside cages. He said the local administration had also warned people to take serious precautions against the virus as it could jeopardise the village's tourism industry.