December 19, 2005

 

Challenges to Indonesia's bird flu pandemic preparations
 

 

Indonesia faces "huge challenges" in preparing for a looming H5N1 avian influenza pandemic, a senior UN official said Monday.

 

"I am very worried abut the spread of bird flu at the moment and it's quite bad in Indonesia and Vietnam," David Nabarro, the UN's Senior System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza, told reporters.

 

"The size and complexity of (Indonesia) make the challenges very large."

 

Nabarro spoke on the sidelines of the unveiling of the Indonesian government's 2006-2008 National Avian Influenza Strategic Management Plan.

 

The plan involves a two-plank strategy that includes the control of avian influenza outbreaks in humans and animals, and preparation for the possible emergence of a human pandemic bird flu strain, Minister of People's Welfare, Aburizal Bakrie, said in a speech.

 

Indonesia has recorded nine human fatalities out of a total of 14 cases since July, World Health Organization data indicates.

 

H5N1 is endemic in Indonesia's poultry stocks, and international health experts warn the country rivals Vietnam and Cambodia as a potential weak point in global efforts to prevent the development of a mutant H5N1 viral strain that could kill millions worldwide.

 

Nabarro said he was "heartened" by Indonesia's efforts to grapple with its H5N1 outbreak and prepare for a potential pandemic, but said much work needed to be done.

 

"Give me two months and ask me again how (Indonesia's preparations) are going," he said.

 

Indonesia relies on vaccinations and a controversial selective culling policy to curb the spread of H5N1 in poultry stocks.

 

The Indonesian government has resisted implementing international-standard mass slaughter of poultry within a three-kilometre radius of any outbreak, due to a lack of adequate funds to compensate affected farmers.

 

Nabarro said he had asked Indonesian government officials to "properly" implement a poultry culling policy to prevent H5N1 infections in domestic bird populations.

 

"You kill (poultry) where there is evidence of disease, but it's got to be done," he said.

 

"There's no use in having a culling policy that isn't properly implemented, (so) implement it properly, please."