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Scientist warns of bird flu in flies
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

A scientist has warned the government not to place too much of the blame for bird flu on poultry as it could result in the public being unaware of the fact that other animals can also carry the virus.

Veterinary pathologist Wasito of Gajah Mada University's veterinary medicine told The Jakarta Post at his office in Yogykarta on Tuesday that other animals, such as cats, dogs and even files, could also carry the virus.

"A study we are conducting here, for example, has convincingly found that it is possible for flies to spread the bird flu virus," he said.

Through a series of laboratory tests involving flies collected from different parts of the country and using molecular research methods, Wasito and his colleagues found that the virus was found in the digestive and respiratory tracks of flies, along with the cuticle layers, flesh and ovum.

Bird flu outbreaks in Indonesia are categorized as either low pathogenic (LPAI) or highly pathogenic (HPAI).

The LPAI form usually attacks only the digestive and respiratory tracts, while HPAI attacks the digestive and respiratory systems along with other organs, including flesh and ovum.

"We do not yet dare to say whether the avian influenza we found in the flies is LPAI or HPAI. We can only say that in the flies, we also found the bird flu virus in other organs," Wasito said.

He said that the research had also reveled that the virus was not only found in flies taken from areas in the middle of bird flu outbreaks.

Wasito said the virus had also been found in flies taken from places that have been declared bird flu free. Only flies taken from locations that have never had a bird flu outbreak were always found H5N1 negative.

"This means that the virus in flies is still inherited in at least the 25th generation, as the research was conducted generally two years after an outbreak," said Wasito, explaining that the flies had a one-month life span.

He also warned that it was possible that a new type of the virus could emerge and lead to massive outbreaks of the disease in animals and humans.

He said that recent field and laboratory studies he had conducted with his colleague Hastari Wuryastuti of the school's veterinary clinical center had found what they called a "silent" bird flu.

"This type of virus does not incite the production of antibodies in the infected bird. The bird, too, looks normal and healthy and shows no pathological lesions or other clinical symptoms that it is infected by the virus," Wasito said.

"We have found some bird flu cases in which we could not find the antibodies in H5N1 positive birds."

He said the danger was that because the birds looked healthy, no one would notice that they were infected with the virus. As a result, poultry farmers might give them the bird flu vaccine.

"This can lead to fatalities, as the vaccine can only be given to birds that are really healthy and bird flu free," said Wasito.

He said he strongly suggested putting an end to mass vaccinations.

Wasito also criticized the government's lack of scientific ground in curbing the bird flu outbreak, which had resulted in scientifically baseless policies.

Declaring that a particular region is bird flu free, for example, or providing a certificate announcing that a particular bird is free from bird flu, according to Wasito, were misleading and making people less aware of the danger of a possible outbreak.

"Socializing good bio-security is a much more effective way to deal with bird flu outbreak," Wasito said, referring to a program that introduces communities to healthy ways of life, good farming practices and the correct way to keep an animal in a neighborhood.