Mass Death of Sparrows in Bali and West Java Analyzed By Experts
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16 September 2021 07:45 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Suspected causes behind the sudden mass death of sparrows - which recently shocked locals in West Java’s Cirebon and Gianyar, Bali - range from viral infection, stress, toxication, and hypoxia.
Tempo reached the professor of the Bogor University of Agriculture (IPB) I Wayan Teguh Wibawa on Wednesday and argues that it is highly unlikely that the deaths of the sparrows is caused by viral infection, which he based on recorded similar cases before.
In theory, he said, stress, toxicity, and hypoxia have a larger chance of being the culprit. “I would argue that it would be difficult to [find the correlation] with diseases,” he said on September 15. “This must grab our collective attention and this is why I urge Bali’s Veterinary Center to swiftly respond to this phenomenon.”
Even though there are possibilities for that, he asserts that there needs to be proper research into it.
The West Java case back in August was investigated under the assumption of a viral infection after the bodies of 20 sparrows were scattered at a housing area. The Sukabumi Head of the Animal Health Section of the Livestock Service, Budina Eka Prasetya, said lab test results show that it was not caused by viruses.
Mahfuzulloh Al Murtadho
