Indonesia - Risk from bird flu remains high, says welfare minister

[Snowy Owl]

Risk from bird flu remains high, says welfare minister​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo and Yemris Fointuna, [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Kupang[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070127.G01&irec=0[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The government is stepping up its efforts to fight bird flu but the risk from the virus remains very high, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said Friday, a day after the country's 63rd human fatality was confirmed.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]He said the government is very serious about addressing the threat in cooperation with local administrations and international partners. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Scientists fear the disease could mutate into a form that is even more dangerous to humans. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Last year, the campaign against the disease succeeded in containing human infections in nine out of the 30 bird flu-prone provinces. The disease has also killed millions of birds. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"Even though our continued efforts have yielded significant progress, we are still on the highest alert," Bakrie said while receiving a donation from the U.S. of 2,000 decontamination kits and 200,000 sets of personal protection equipment, the gear that workers wear to handle fowls infected with avian influenza. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The donation is worth US$2.2 million and is part of a $41 million assistance package from the U.S. government and USAID. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"Suits, respirators, goggles and gloves and decontamination kits help keep our agricultural and health workers safe as they do their important work to control this disease. They will also help us to respond more effectively in case of an outbreak," Bakrie said. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]U.S. Ambassador for Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe handed over the protective gear to be used in biosecurity, vaccination and culling of poultry infected with H5N1. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"We have not yet contained bird flu here in Indonesia and must remain vigilant in both our continued efforts to detect and contain the virus and to educate the citizens of this nation, particularly at the village level," Pascoe said. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]So far, bird flu has infected 81 people since it arrived in Indonesia in 2005. The diagnosis of the latest fatality, a six-year-old girl from the Central Java town of Magelang, was announced Thursday. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The new case brought the country's total human deaths from the virus to 63, the highest in the world, with six deaths occurring this month alone. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Following the resurgence of bird flu, the government has intensified its fight against the disease, including banning backyard poultry in Jakarta and nearby provinces. However, mass culling efforts have continued to meet resistance from poultry breeders across the country. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, the Tenau animal quarantine office rejected at least 1,300 day-old chickens from a Surabaya company Friday. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The quarantine office spokesman, Putu Gede Suardaya, said the chickens were turned down as part of the effort to keep bird flu out of the province. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]He said the company was not among those officially listed to supply poultry to the province, and the supplier did not obtain a permit from the province's animal husbandry office. This raised suspicion that the birds might have the disease.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The head of the province's animal husbandry office, Christian Leyloh, said his office would not accept poultry imports that ignore security and standard procedures. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"If there is a company which violates these regulations, there's no other option but to return the poultry or destroy them," he said.[/FONT]