Indonesia prepares plan to fight bird flu

With the recent spread of Avian Influenza (AI) in Indonesia, the Health Ministry has prepared for a possible pandemic of the disease, a minister said Monday in Jakarta.

"The Health Ministry has prepared a 'National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan'. This is an international requirement for any country affected by bird flu," Antara news agency quoted Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari as saying.

She said with the existence of the national preparedness plan the state now has a set of guidelines for taking decisions in case the pandemic occurred as the world, especially Southeast Asia, was already under a pandemic alert toward the disease.

"Hopefully, there will be no pandemic in this country. But if it happens, we already have a plan on the steps that need to be taken," the minister said, adding that an avian influenza pandemic could kill 7 million to 100 million people world-wide.

Indonesia has entered the third phase of bird flu infection out of six phases of infection toward a pandemic according to a definition of the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Currently, we are in the third phase, where the virus is transmitted from animals to human beings," she added.

WHO has defined six phases of avian influenza infection before it turns into a pandemic.

First, AI infection of poultry with low risk of infection to humans; second, AI infection with a high risk of the virus being transmitted to humans; third, AI infection of humans ; fourth, human-to-human transmission of the disease.

In the fifth phase there is a significant increase in transmission from human to human and in the sixth phase the disease has become a pandemic.

"So far the situation is still under control, the number of deaths due to the AI virus is still below those in Vietnam and Thailand," Siti said.

According to WHO data, between December 2003 and Sept. 22, 2005, the number of bird flu infection of humans in Vietnam has reached 91 cases with 41 deaths and in Thailand 17 cases with 12 deaths.

In Indonesia, according to WHO, until Sept. 26, 34 people were suspected to have been infected, two people had probably been infected, and six people had been confirmed as infected with the virus. Three of the confirmed cases had died.

But the Indonesian government said six people have died of bird flu.

To stop further spread of the deadly virus, the Health Ministry is adhering to seven-step national strategy, the steps being preventing infection of poultry, protecting high-risk groups, improving performance of surveillance teams, increasing communication, information and education on the disease, increasing management of cases, research on the disease, and declaring the problem a national extraordinary happening.

Source: Xinhua