Indonesian team says new disinfectant kills bird-flu virus
A team of Indonesian veterinarians has developed a disinfectant spray it claims kills the bird-flu virus on contact, a news report said.
The team from Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, said the disinfectant could be used to spray cages and areas where fowl have died from H5N1, the strain of avian influenza that can be deadly in humans, to prevent it from spreading, the state-run Antara news agency said.
“Just as we have been fogging to control dengue fever, we expect this new disinfectant to be able to prevent the bird-flu virus from infecting humans,” Fedik Abdul Rantam, a professor at the university’s veterinary school and the team’s leader, was quoted as saying.
“As soon as there are fowl dead of the virus, we can spray the disinfectant right away,” he said.
Indonesia has the world’s highest human death toll from bird flu with 64 fatalities, including six this year.
To stop the spread of the virus, the Jakarta government banned backyard poultry farms in residential areas in the capital and nine provinces.
Most bird-flu victims around the world had direct or indirect contact with sick birds, but scientists said they fear the virus could mutate into a form easily transmissible among humans, sparking a global pandemic that could kill millions.
source:antara-news
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