Indonesia After 2 Years, 99 Cases
Jakarta, 6 June 2007- Nearly two years after claiming its first human victim in Indonesia, avian influenza remains a serious threat here, the head of Indonesia’s bird flu coordinating body said today. Since June 2005, the virus has infected 99 people in Indonesia, more than any other nation. Some 79 people have died of the disease.
“Both national and community level efforts by the government and international agencies have made a difference, but the situation is still serious; we can not be complacent, everyone needs to remain vigilant,” says KOMNAS FBPI chief executive Bayu Krisnamurthi.
The infection rate has actually declined in the last year, Mr. Krisnamurthi said. However, the case fatality rate has risen to over 79%. He added more new cases are being found in rural areas as compared with urban areas. The large proportion of rural cases makes it more difficult to get rapid medical attention for people living in more remote areas.
“This reality poses a great challenge—how to get the patient diagnosed quickly and then treated at a bird-flu reference hospitals,” Mr. Krisnamurthi said, adding that most of the 44 bird-flu reference hospitals are located in cities.
Public awareness remains a key strategy in overcoming bird flu. From the national strategy to provincial, district and village level campaigns, public awareness has increased considerably, but Mr. Krisnamurthi said even more work is needed.
He cited the epidemiological investigation carried out on the three latest cases, indicating the victims had contact with sick chickens bought from poultry markets. The victims slaughtered and prepared the chickens without taking proper precautions.
“There are still people who haven’t fully understood how important it is to protect themselves from the virus. We still need to promote these life saving messages, over and over again,” he says.
New programs are seeking to raise awareness rural communities and control the virus in bird population.
On May 31, KOMNAS FBPI, launched the AI Kit program. KOMNAS, supported by UNICEF, is distributing 100,000 AI Kits to community leaders in high risk villages. Each kit contains masks, gloves, a street banner, bird-flu VCDs, liquid soap, bar soap, as well as stickers, flyers and a booklet that explain effective ways to reduce the risk of contracting bird flu. Local leaders can use the kit to discuss the problem with their communities and decide how they can reduce their risk of contracting the virus.
The participatory disease surveillance and response (PDS/R) program is also being expanded by the techniques the Ministry of Agriculture, Unit, with technical assistance from, FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization. The PDS-PDR program is training local government Dinas Peternakan veterinarians and paraveterinarians in participatory disease surveillance and response (PDS/R) techniques. PDS/R teams are currently operating in 159 out of the 444 districts in Indonesia and so far 1,079 surveillance and response officers have been trained. PDS/R capacity has been established in all districts of Java, Bali, North Sumatra and Lampung provinces – home to 68 percent of the country’s population.
To boost the war against the virus in poultry side, KOMNAS FBPI will host international conference on vaccination and strategic management of the virus in poultry in the second week of June.
On human health side, under an integrated avian influenza surveillance project – for both animal and human –the World Health Organization is supporting the Government of Indonesia in conducting trainings for District Surveillance Officers in Banten and Bali provinces. Similar trainings are expected to cover nine provinces which have reported human cases.
With main task to improve active case findings, these officers will work co-jointly with the participatory disease surveillance and response (PDS/R) teams of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Aside from that, strengthening capacity of health care centers is also essential to allow better respond in handling human cases. A number of ventilators and portable x-ray machines have been distributed to some of the referral hospitals.
Sulianto Saroso Infectious Disease hospital, as one of the main avian influenza reference hospital, will conduct a study commissioned by WHO to elucidate factors that account for high Case Fatality Rate.
KOMNAS FBPI also gathers supports from private sectors, such as banks, media companies and the country’s seven biggest poultry companies in intensifying efforts to combat bird flu in all sectors, including promoting clean and healthy poultry markets.
Bayu specifically praised the Jakarta and Bali regional councils for passing the provincial ordinances on raising, trading and transportation of poultry. He also encouraged other governors to follow the steps of the Banten, West Java and West Kalimantan governors who had issued gubernatorial decrees on poultry-related activities.
Indonesia reported its first case of H5N1 infection in poultry in Pekalongan and Tangerang Regencies in August 2003. The first human case In Indonesia occurred in June 2005 in Tangerang Regency when it claimed the life of a 37 year-old man and his 8 year old daughter.
KOMNAS FBPI and its panel of experts concluded that, geographically, up to now the transmission of the virus is sporadic and shows no pattern.
To date, human cases have been recorded in 11 of the country’s 33 provinces and 38 districts of the 444. In the bird population the highly pathogenic virus is endemic among poultry in 31 provinces and over 243 districts across the country, killing dozens of millions of poultry, most of which raised by backyard farmers.
The avian influenza virus is a highly pathogenic virus that mainly affects birds. In rare cases, the disease can also infect humans. Experts fear that so called bird flu could change into a novel influenza virus that spreads easily between humans, with the potential to ignite a global influenza pandemic
There are steps that every Indonesian can take to lower the risk of contracting the H5N1 virus.
- Do not touch sick or dying birds; if you do, immediately wash your hands and report to local authorities.
- Wash your hands and utensils with soap and water before you eat or cook. Cook all poultry and eggs well.
- Separate your birds and separate all new flocks for two weeks.
- Go immediately to a health clinic if you have a fever with flu-like symptoms and have had contact with birds.
For Information about the AI Kit and about avian influenza please visit our website at www.komnasfbpi.go.id or contact:
KOMNAS Media Center
Tod Mohammed (International Media)
0811936674
tod.mohamed@gmail.com
Arie Rukmantara (National Media)
0817754548
rukmantara@gmail.com
