INDONESIA PROBABLY FIRST TO REPORT HUMAN-SPREAD BIRD FLU
ndonesia probably first to report human-spread bird flu
Posted on : 2006-06-10 | Author : Thomas Blythe
News Category : World
JAKARTA: The first instances of human-to-human bird flu transmission probably occurred in Indonesia, according to a minister of the archipelago nation.
Aburizal Bakrie, coordinating minister for people's welfare, said yesterday that the seven cluster cases of H5N1 positive reported last month included the first cases of human-to-human transmission. The minister was speaking at a meeting to announce a nationwide campaign to prevent an outbreak and prepare for a pandemic.
Attendees at the meeting included representatives of the WHO, UNICEF, Food and Agriculture Organization and officials from the National Commission on Bird Flu and health and agricultural ministries. Other officials did not agree with Bakrie's statement and offered a more careful assessment of the situation.
With 50 confirmed cases of H5N1 and 37 deaths from it, Indonesia is second only to Vietnam which reported the highest number of cases. A few cases have been identified in some Indonesian provinces and regions such as Banten, Tangerang, Lampung, North Sumatra, West Java and Jakarta. Poultry infections were detected in 29 of its 33 provinces.
The government swung into action last month prompted by a report about a 7-member family in a North Sumatra village. All the members of the family showed similar symptoms which triggered fears about a human-to-human transmission pandemic. It was the single largest incident that indicated possibility of human-to-human chain of infection.
Emil Agustiono, representing the National Commission on Bird Flu said Aburizal's statement cannot be confirmed without adequate research. Hariadi Wibisono, an official of the health ministry said Indonesia faced a bigger threat from infected poultry not human-to-human transmission.
It is believed that the human cases could allow the H5N1 strain virus to mutate into a more deadly form and spread more rapidly.
Aburizal said his office planned to cull all poultry within one kilometer radius of the area believed to be infected. He would also enforce the 1984 Epidemic Law and the 1967 Infectious Disease Control Law, which meant anybody trying to stop officials from killing their chicken would be dealt with strictly.
Posted on : 2006-06-10 | Author : Thomas Blythe
News Category : World
JAKARTA: The first instances of human-to-human bird flu transmission probably occurred in Indonesia, according to a minister of the archipelago nation.
Aburizal Bakrie, coordinating minister for people's welfare, said yesterday that the seven cluster cases of H5N1 positive reported last month included the first cases of human-to-human transmission. The minister was speaking at a meeting to announce a nationwide campaign to prevent an outbreak and prepare for a pandemic.
Attendees at the meeting included representatives of the WHO, UNICEF, Food and Agriculture Organization and officials from the National Commission on Bird Flu and health and agricultural ministries. Other officials did not agree with Bakrie's statement and offered a more careful assessment of the situation.
With 50 confirmed cases of H5N1 and 37 deaths from it, Indonesia is second only to Vietnam which reported the highest number of cases. A few cases have been identified in some Indonesian provinces and regions such as Banten, Tangerang, Lampung, North Sumatra, West Java and Jakarta. Poultry infections were detected in 29 of its 33 provinces.
The government swung into action last month prompted by a report about a 7-member family in a North Sumatra village. All the members of the family showed similar symptoms which triggered fears about a human-to-human transmission pandemic. It was the single largest incident that indicated possibility of human-to-human chain of infection.
Emil Agustiono, representing the National Commission on Bird Flu said Aburizal's statement cannot be confirmed without adequate research. Hariadi Wibisono, an official of the health ministry said Indonesia faced a bigger threat from infected poultry not human-to-human transmission.
It is believed that the human cases could allow the H5N1 strain virus to mutate into a more deadly form and spread more rapidly.
Aburizal said his office planned to cull all poultry within one kilometer radius of the area believed to be infected. He would also enforce the 1984 Epidemic Law and the 1967 Infectious Disease Control Law, which meant anybody trying to stop officials from killing their chicken would be dealt with strictly.
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