REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA - At least 113,700 ducks in three provinces in Indonesia died during the last four months due to Avian Influenza (AI). According to Yogyakarta Veterinary Center (BBVet), the number of death of is equal in Central Java, East Java, and Yogyakarta.

Epidemologist of BBVet, Putut Djoko Purnomo, said the virus attack was started in September. "The death spread to other regions and it reaches the peak in December," he said on Wednesday.

He admitted that virus attacking the ducks was new variant of H5N1, clade 2321. BBVet prioritizes the using of disinfectant, limited depopulation, and monitoring poultry trade. 

Meanwhile, Virology Professor of Veterinary Medicine Faculty in Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Widya Asmara, said the new virus was ferocious. But Indonesian Government does not have the vaccine to protect from the new variant.

She said that the virus usually attacked wild birds in Asia. In 2010, the similar virus was found in Nepal, India, China and Japan. "It spread to Asia through bird migration during winter and entered Indonesia in December," she said.

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