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You are watching UNICEF Television.

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Following a muddy trail behind his home in central Java, Wiatno returns to his chicken

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farm.

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It is now a dark and empty place, very different from the days it housed more than one thousand

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chickens.

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Wiatno had his entire flock slaughtered in 2005 after avian flu spread rapidly through

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this coop.

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The culling was a financial blow.

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He says many people here see avian flu only as an economic nuisance, not a life-threatening

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concern.

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Most of the community takes it for granted, he says, because they think avian flu only

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strikes chickens and not people.

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But in terms of human cost, Indonesians have suffered worst of all.

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More than 90 people have been infected with avian flu.

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On average, three out of every four with the illness have died.

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UNICEF and its partners have been working to raise awareness of the dangers of avian

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flu.

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In addition to TV and radio spots, UNICEF works with local communities in what is called

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Participatory Learning and Action, or PLA.

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Community members compose songs, dramas and posters that locals can relate to.

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Srira Hayu is a kindergarten teacher, but she also tends to a cage of chickens at home.

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She believes the community approach is working.

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The PLA has an impact, she says.

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One thing I noticed is that if we put into practice those messages we learn from the

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PLA, it will actually help the economy.

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The community has learned to identify the symptoms of bird flu and to report it immediately.

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But many still say they don't know enough.

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Even just down the road from Srira Hayu's home, chickens and ducks roam freely.

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Their owners show little concern about their poultry getting infected.

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I don't really know anything about avian flu, she says.

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I just know it's contagious.

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I'm not worried about it.

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All my chickens look healthy.

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Appearances that may be deceiving and potentially deadly.

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In Sragan, Indonesia, this is Steve Nettleton reporting for UNICEF Television.

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Unite for Children.