Jakarta gains poultry slaughtering houses for avian influenza control

Jakarta's Marine and Agriculture Department plans to build poultry slaughtering facilities in five city markets in an effort to minimize the spread of the avian influenza virus, as well as provide extra convenience for traders, according to reports. The five markets are Sukapura Market (North Jakarta), Perumnas Klender Market and Ciracas Market (East Jakarta), Cempakaputih Market (Central Jakarta), and Grogol Market (West Jakarta). Officials are also preparing four additional slaughterhouses outside the city. “So, relocation can be done from 200 collecting places and 2,000 slaughtering houses to [the new facilities] that we have prepared," said Dzawil Hidjah, head of the livestock division of the Marine and Agriculture Department. "This is also to ease monitoring toward poultry which will be slaughtered and consumed by residents.” Jakarta's Health Ministry has also trained 14,000 people from the community health center to handle avian flu in an effort to control potential outbreaks. There have been seven cases in poultry and five in humans in North Jakarta between 2005 and 2012.