Batam, Riau Islands - Although in bird flu alert status, Batam in Riau Islands province remains safe for tourist visits, Batam city culture and tourism department spokesman Yusfa Hendri said here on Wednesday. "Batam remains safe for both domestic and foreign tourists because bird flu case occurs in one area only," Hendri noted. According to him, Batam city administration continued to address bird flu case by culling all bird flu infected poultry in Pulau Air Raja and Sei Temiang. Hendri explained that he has received a text message from a Singapore tourist agent, asking about the impact of bird flu case on tourism. "But luckily there is no prohibition from the governments Singapore and Malaysia to their citizens to visit Batam," he said. Local Animal Husbandry Department of Fisheries and Marine (KP2K) spokesperson Suhartini said here over the weekend that thousands of chickens would be culled to avoid spread of bird flu. "We will probably cull thousands of chickens in Air Raja Bulang and Sei Temiang Sekupang areas to anticipate the spread of avian influenza (H5N1) virus there," Suhartini said. According to her, more than 2,000 chickens in Air Raja Bulang area and around 200 in Sei Temiang were reported to have died suddenly during the past several days. "All chickens in the radius of 1 km away from the areas where bird flu occurred will be culled to prevent it from spreading wider," she noted. (*)

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