TEMPO Interactive, Jambi: In recent weeks, thousands of chickens in four villages in Muarojambi district, Jambi Province, had suddenly died, suspected of bird flu. Two other districts, Sekernan and Sengeti, were also attacked, but the deaths were in the several of hundreds only. Muarojambi Head of Livestock Office, Parahuman Lubis, reported on Dec. 20 that losses were estimated at hundreds of millions of rupiahs. Lubis has deployed officers to the locations to, among others, spray disinfectants. "We spray the chickens and their cages to prevent the bird flu virus from spreading," he said. Although the number of chickens that died suddenly was high, Lubis did not think that the bird flu in Muarojambi had become endemic. ''It cannot be said to be endemic for bird flu can appear just because of the weather,'' he explained. SYAIPUL BAKHORI