Tweet
'Awareness and prevention key in bird flu fight'
July 28, 2006
Indonesia reached a grim milestone recently, recording its 43rd human death from bird flu, the highest fatality figure in the world. Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari spoke with The Jakarta Post's Tubagus Arie Rukmantara about the government's efforts to contain the H5N1 virus.
Question: Indonesia recently recorded its 43rd human death from bird flu, which is the highest number in the world. What does this number mean to you?
Answer: I have to explain this carefully. Yes, we are the highest in the world in terms of total number of bird flu human fatalities. But, if you view it from the perspective of population, it is because we have 220 million people living across 17,000 islands. Meanwhile, Vietnam has only about 80 million people with fewer geographical barriers than us. The situation of the two countries is incomparable.
Nevertheless, we will not play it down. We are very concerned. Losing even one single life means a lot to us.
The real question is -- why have so many people here gotten infected? We have to understand that the spread of bird flu accelerates in dense populations, both human and poultry. The problem is, in Indonesia the highest density poultry populations are found in backyard farms. And in backyard farms, many people are unaware of the importance of sanitation for the birds' cages and their surroundings.
Many people just don't care about the importance of wearing gloves or personal protective equipment whenever they have contact with their birds, making them very much vulnerable to various health problems.
The government has been campaigning against bird flu, so why are so many people still unaware of the threat posed by bird flu?
The fact is many regions are bird flu-free. That has made many people just ignore the problem. If you go to Tanah Karo, North Sumatra, most people think there is nothing to worry about with bird flu, although the region has recorded seven bird flu deaths from one family cluster, the largest cluster in the world. Nobody there is willing to undergo tests, they won't even let their chickens be tested. Fortunately, there have been no more outbreaks there.
The present situation is not favorable. There are no systematic programs to stamp out bird flu. Our vaccination and disinfectant spraying campaigns have not had a significant impact. Such a situation might tempt people to feel they don't have to worry about bird flu. So, it is obvious that we have to improve our public campaign against bird flu.
How has the international community reacted to the situation here?
The world community has criticized us for failing to address the issue of infected poultry. They do not criticize how we treat human patients. They can't say we have failed to cure patients, because there's no cure available. They worry about how we deal with the problem of sick chickens.
The international community wants us to introduce mass culling of fowls, which is simply not feasible. In Vietnam, for example, poultry culling succeeded in containing the spread of the virus. But the public there accepted the policy and participated in the program, although it was not clear whether the government would compensate the farmers for their losses.
In Thailand, the country has regularly culled sick birds, but the program is considered ineffective because the virus cannot be completely eliminated. And now, they are mobilizing thousands of students to conduct a bird flu campaign in villages.
The two countries have succeeded in implementing such strategies partly because of their geographical conditions and partly because of people's awareness of the problem.
The WHO says that there has been limited human-to-human transmission of bird flu in Indonesia, but you consistently deny this. Why?
All the data and samples of cases occurring here are kept by us. We haven't shared them with other institutions because we are still conducting our research. After studying samples taken from 56 patients, including those from the Karo cluster, we believe there has been no mutation in the virus.
Those who say there have been human-to-human transmissions are epidemiologists, because when they see the virus infect a group of people they take that to mean transmission has occurred.
I myself still believe that the virus has not mutated, because all the samples show the virus comes from chickens, not from some other sources.
What is your office doing to prevent more deaths?
Because the key is public awareness and prevention, we will work together with organizations such as Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, to increase people's awareness of sanitation and health matters. We will ask them to spray their backyards with disinfectant, have their chickens vaccinated and wash their hands frequently, which has proven to be the most efficient and effective way to stop the virus.
July 28, 2006
Indonesia reached a grim milestone recently, recording its 43rd human death from bird flu, the highest fatality figure in the world. Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari spoke with The Jakarta Post's Tubagus Arie Rukmantara about the government's efforts to contain the H5N1 virus.
Question: Indonesia recently recorded its 43rd human death from bird flu, which is the highest number in the world. What does this number mean to you?
Answer: I have to explain this carefully. Yes, we are the highest in the world in terms of total number of bird flu human fatalities. But, if you view it from the perspective of population, it is because we have 220 million people living across 17,000 islands. Meanwhile, Vietnam has only about 80 million people with fewer geographical barriers than us. The situation of the two countries is incomparable.
Nevertheless, we will not play it down. We are very concerned. Losing even one single life means a lot to us.
The real question is -- why have so many people here gotten infected? We have to understand that the spread of bird flu accelerates in dense populations, both human and poultry. The problem is, in Indonesia the highest density poultry populations are found in backyard farms. And in backyard farms, many people are unaware of the importance of sanitation for the birds' cages and their surroundings.
Many people just don't care about the importance of wearing gloves or personal protective equipment whenever they have contact with their birds, making them very much vulnerable to various health problems.
The government has been campaigning against bird flu, so why are so many people still unaware of the threat posed by bird flu?
The fact is many regions are bird flu-free. That has made many people just ignore the problem. If you go to Tanah Karo, North Sumatra, most people think there is nothing to worry about with bird flu, although the region has recorded seven bird flu deaths from one family cluster, the largest cluster in the world. Nobody there is willing to undergo tests, they won't even let their chickens be tested. Fortunately, there have been no more outbreaks there.
The present situation is not favorable. There are no systematic programs to stamp out bird flu. Our vaccination and disinfectant spraying campaigns have not had a significant impact. Such a situation might tempt people to feel they don't have to worry about bird flu. So, it is obvious that we have to improve our public campaign against bird flu.
How has the international community reacted to the situation here?
The world community has criticized us for failing to address the issue of infected poultry. They do not criticize how we treat human patients. They can't say we have failed to cure patients, because there's no cure available. They worry about how we deal with the problem of sick chickens.
The international community wants us to introduce mass culling of fowls, which is simply not feasible. In Vietnam, for example, poultry culling succeeded in containing the spread of the virus. But the public there accepted the policy and participated in the program, although it was not clear whether the government would compensate the farmers for their losses.
In Thailand, the country has regularly culled sick birds, but the program is considered ineffective because the virus cannot be completely eliminated. And now, they are mobilizing thousands of students to conduct a bird flu campaign in villages.
The two countries have succeeded in implementing such strategies partly because of their geographical conditions and partly because of people's awareness of the problem.
The WHO says that there has been limited human-to-human transmission of bird flu in Indonesia, but you consistently deny this. Why?
All the data and samples of cases occurring here are kept by us. We haven't shared them with other institutions because we are still conducting our research. After studying samples taken from 56 patients, including those from the Karo cluster, we believe there has been no mutation in the virus.
Those who say there have been human-to-human transmissions are epidemiologists, because when they see the virus infect a group of people they take that to mean transmission has occurred.
I myself still believe that the virus has not mutated, because all the samples show the virus comes from chickens, not from some other sources.
What is your office doing to prevent more deaths?
Because the key is public awareness and prevention, we will work together with organizations such as Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama, to increase people's awareness of sanitation and health matters. We will ask them to spray their backyards with disinfectant, have their chickens vaccinated and wash their hands frequently, which has proven to be the most efficient and effective way to stop the virus.
Comment