Supari: Bird flu more dangerous than swine flu

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.republika.co.id/berita/46907/Flu_Burung_Jauh_Lebih_Bahaya_dari_Flu_Babi

Bird Flu Over The Danger of Flu Pigs
By Republika Newsroom
Tuesday, 28 April 2009 at 11:56:00

JAKARTA - Health Minister (Menkes) Siti Fadilah Supari said that bird flu virus (H5N1) is much more dangerous from the swine flu virus (H1N1), especially for tropical areas like Indonesia. The predicted H1N1 virus will not be able to live in the tropics because the virus usually lives in the four seasons.

Society''India need not panic. In Mexico and the United States swine flu cases flare during the winter, when spring and summer that the virus can not survive,''Menkes said to the press on Tuesday (28 / 4).

According to Menkes, the virus H5N1 is far more dangerous from the H1N1 can be seen from the data that already exists. If''diibaratkan, 100 people with flu pigs possibility is 6 people died, while 100 people with possible bird flu killed 80 people can achieve,''he said.

More Menkes disease states flu pigs (swine flu) is a disease caused by influenza virus of H1N1 influenza A subtipe that can be transmitted through animals, especially pigs. ''In general, this disease is similar to influenza (Influenza-Like Illness ILL, red),''his blazing.

With maraknya flu pigs in Mexico and the U.S., Menkes said the Ministry of Health (MOH) has undertaken steps to awareness and prevention in order not to spread to Indonesia. In Indonesia, he continued, the number of pigs was not too much because more than 85 percent of the population is Muslim. ''In addition, we also request a stop import pork,''he said.

The step-langlah the MOH, Menkes said, is to install 10 thermal scanner to detect the temperature at the international airport arrivals terminal. Then re-activate for about 80 sentinel surveillance ili and pneumonia, both in the form of clinics and virologi. Then provide a''drug-related handling swine flu is essentially the same oseltamivir for H5N1,''specifically.

Steps, Menkes said, is to set up 100 hospitals that already have the ability to deal with cases of swine flu. And the ability to set up a laboratory for examination at various laboratories H1N1 bird flu that already exist. Menyebarluaskan informasi ke masyarakat luas dan menyiagakan kesehatan melalui desa siaga. Then the simulation of a new influenza pandemic is done in the last week.

''This is also a real effort to prepare the government for various possible accident or extraordinary emergency international public health concern (PHEIC) such as pig flu,''he said. - Eye / ahi

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Supari: Bird flu more dangerous than swine flu

A different point of view regarding survival of swine flu viruses

Source:
http://nasional.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/04/28/17335692/flu.babi.berpotensi.berkembang.di.indonesia

Google translation:
Pigs Berpotensi Developing flu in Indonesia
SURYA / Sugiharto
Tuesday, 28 April 2009 | 17:33 WIB

SURABAYA, KOMPAS.com - swine flu that spread to developing human potential in Indonesia. However, it can almost be violence flu swine flu down in Mexico that has been infecting poultry in Indonesia.

Head of Laboratory Flu Poultry CA Nidom Airlangga University, said swine flu was already prevalent. Disease with the H1N1 virus in Indonesia has been used since. Subtipe in Indonesia or not dangerous H1N1 classic. "Mexican H1N1 type of flu, known as a pig now that this is dangerous," he said in Surabaya, on Tuesday (28 / 4).[/B]

Research based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention United States, Mexico H1N1 type of flu is suspected strong combination of poultry, swine flu and human flu. Possible changes in the virus body pigs.

"Since 2005, I bring this hypothetical. I fear this will happen. Last year I again remind this potential danger. However, some people still resist," he said.

Virus that changes in the body of pigs may be more infectious to humans. The human and pig together mammals that tend to have similarities. Instead, bird flu can not be directly to humans.[/B]

"Theoretically, the virus in poultry does not go to mammals such as humans. There should be a mediator and other mammals is likely to pig," he said.

In the body of pigs, the virus changes with the two patterns. The first form of adaptation patterns. "If this happens, its impact is not too dangerous because there are no changes in the structure of the virus," he said.

Pattern re-drafting a second virus. Based on this pattern, the virus can develop into a combination of swine flu, bird flu and human flu. "If the explanation gather in the U.S., there is a possibility reassortan (re-drafting)," he said.

If it happens, not closed the possibility of swine flu in Indonesia can be developed. One is supporting the number of pig and poultry farm near. "Since bird flu merebak, I already explained the importance of managing livestock back," he said.

However, on the other hand, H1N1 type of violence does not like Mexican H5N1. From about 1500 cases in the world, only 150 ended with the death. "The virus is spread quickly, but the damage to low power. On the slow spread of H5N1. However, the damage is very high," he said.

Less than a month, Mexican H1N1 type has been infecting thousands of people. While in the past three years, the case of H5N1 was only about 300 cases in the world. "I worry if the results of re-drafting the virus spread quickly and damage to high power. Syukur far have not shown a sign to it," said Nidom.

Raz

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Supari: Bird flu more dangerous than swine flu

As a reminder to anyone reading the above posts...

Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/28/content_11274205.htm

OIE chief: Current raging flu not transmitted from pig
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-28 17:17:33

Special Report: World Tackles Swine Flu

PARIS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The deadly influenza virus currently rampaging in Mexico and other countries is by far transmitted only among humans, rather than widely believed to have originated in pigs, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said Monday.

The virus is a cocktail, which combines the features of swine, bird and human viruses. It is inaccurate to name the disease "swine flu" though the swine flu virus played a part in the outbreak, Bernard Vallat, director general of the Paris-based OIE said in an interview with Xinhua.

Vallat said he is worried about people's misconception about the disease, which was caused in part by its misnomer "swine flu." He said that as the virus is nonexistent before, the disease got its current name in the early stage of the outbreak.

He recommended "North American influenza" as a more reasonable term, as influenza epidemics are customarily named after their places of origin Spanish flu, for instance.

He noted that the virus has not been found so far in pigs and other animals and it attacked and is transmitted among humans only, and some Mexican urban residents without direct contact with animals were also infected.

This indicates that the virus was not transmitted from animals to humans, he said, adding that disease prevention should be focused on humans and people infected with the virus should be isolated from healthy people.

He also suggested that public gatherings be reduced to the minimum in countries hit by the epidemic.

In Vallat's view, the Mexican government's moves to suspend all sporting events and public gatherings are feasible emergency measures, but in the long term effective treatment is needed and vaccines should be developed as soon as possible.

But he said it will take at least three months before a vaccine becomes available on the market, adding the development, mass production and distribution of vaccines cannot be completed overnight.

The official also noted that the so-called swine flu has nothing to do with bird flu, which was caused by totally different viruses with different targets and means of transmission. Bird flu has caused millions of birds infected and claimed about 200 human lives in the past four years. The relatively low human death toll put it into the category of an animal disease, which seldom spreads among humans, he said.

Vallat said the task now is to identify the origin of this virus as soon as possible, but what is certain is that the term "swine flu" is apparently inaccurate because the real swine flu hardly infects human.

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Supari: Bird flu more dangerous than swine flu

Readers, please do not start calling this disease either North American or Mexican flu. The above post was an attempt to protect pork producers from being vilified and damaging the profits of pig farmers. As informed readers we already know that pork will not infect people when properly cooked. Also, most first world producers routinely vaccinate their pigs for swine flu. Better we name this flu after the portion of the virus that makes it a unique influenza, than after the first poor victims.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Supari: Bird flu more dangerous than swine flu

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/29/2555500.htm

Climate 'shielding Indonesia from swine flu'
By Indonesia correspondent Geoff Thompson

Indonesia's health minister says the reason the country has been spared from any confirmed swine flu infections is largely because of its climate.

Dr Siti Fadilah Supari was previously embroiled in controversy when she decided to cease sharing samples of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus with the World Health Organisation (WHO), because of fears that any vaccines developed would be sold for profit to the developing world, with no share going to Indonesia.

Now she is seeking to calm the nation worst-hit by bird flu by suggesting that the H1N1 swine flu virus may be more of a problem for people of Spanish origin than Indonesians.

"We hope that H1N1 is not compatible with Indonesians," she said.

"H1N1 may be more compatible with their race, while H5N1 is more compatible with Indonesians."

But the spokeswoman with the WHO's swine flu communications team in Geneva, Viktoria Dijakovic, says there is no evidence that one race would fare worse than another.

"We don't know this virus very well yet, and there is no vaccine at this time, so we can't say if it's racially a problem ... or not," she said.

The WHO is particularly concerned about the southern hemisphere - where the flu season is kicking off - because the virus survives better in cold climates.

Ms Dijakovic says equatorial countries like Indonesia are a problem because there the flu season never ends.

But that is not the way Dr Supari sees it and yesterday she said that H1N1 could only survive in cold weather.

"Australia says H1N1 is more dangerous than bird flu," she said.

"Well yes, for Australia ... but for Indonesia that's not the case, because in Indonesia the weather is never cold, unlike Australia."

Australian epidemiologist Dr Andrew Jerimijenko is now involved with the response to the swine flu threat in Australia, but spent years studying influenza in Indonesia.

He says the Health Minister's theories are dangerous.

"Her idea that a tropical climate will protect them from H1N1 is not true, because H1N1 survives in tropical climates," he said.

"It survives a little bit better in cold climates, but it also survives in tropical climates."

Indonesia is taking more conventional precautions against pandemic.

Pork imports have been indefinitely banned, there is thermal scanner screening at some airports, and extra surveillance has been ordered over the nine million pigs managing to survive in a nation of mostly Muslims who do not eat pork.