Indonesia to cooperate with UN experts to eliminate bird flu

Indonesia will cooperate with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in its efforts to prevent further spread of bird flu, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono said here Wednesday.

The minister told Xinhua in telephone that scores of experts from the organization would help Indonesian agricultural ministry in its move to prevent the spread of H5N1 virus.

The agricultural ministry would begin next month to intensify efforts to prevent bird flu outbreak in areas suspected of having the avian influenza virus across the country, he said.

"After the experts from the FAO come here to see the situation, we will discuss the step to be taken," said Apriantono.

The minister said that his ministry would closely watch the areas suspected of having the virus through posts.

"We can reduce the virus to the minimum level within three to five years," he said without elaborate.

The minister said that the government aims to have monitoring posts nationwide.

Meanwhile, Japan and Germany will provide 135 millions US dollars and 4 million euro (4.7 million US dollars) to Indonesia for combating the outbreak, according to state Antara news agency here Wednesday.

Fourteen people in Indonesia have contracted the virus, which has spread to 21 provinces out of 33 since late 2003, killing over 10 millions fowls.

The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain is endemic in poultry in parts of Asia, and experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily among humans, just like human influenza. If it does, millions could die because they would have no immunity.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made fighting bird flu one of the government's top priorities.

Source: Xinhua