Public still oblivious to bird flu peril: Commission

Two years after the first reported human bird flu infection, the National Commission for avian influenza and Pandemic Preparedness has noted that most people still turn a blind eye to the seriousness of the disease.

Commission data show that 97 percent of Indonesians are aware of bird flu, but that only 15 percent regard the disease as a direct threat to themselves and their families.

"Many people still say `I know that the disease is dangerous, but it's other people's problem, not mine'. So I believe an intensive campaign is a must," commission head Bayu Krisnamurthi told reporters here Wednesday.

"People tend to be afraid of being diagnosed with bird flu because they don't want to be isolated or stigmatized by their neighborhood," he said. "They prefer to medicate themselves with ordinary influenza drugs available from nearby kiosks."

Bayu said Indonesians should learn from the example set by people in Egypt, where the human death toll from bird flu remains low despite there being a high rate of infection.

"Most housewives there highly regard the importance of immediate medical treatment for their sick children, even if they only have the slightest symptoms of common flu," he said.

"Early detection is not easy because bird flu symptoms are similar to those of the common flu. Seventy percent of bird flu patients receive treatment only after more than five days of illness, while most deaths are due to late treatment."

He said that Tamiflu, or Oseltamivir, is effective for suppressing the virus's development only if administered between two and 24 hours after infection. A cure for bird flu has not yet been developed.

Data from the period between June 2006 and May 2007 show that the human death rate from avian influenza has risen to 86.4 percent from 74.5 percent for the 12 months before that period.

Indonesia's human death toll stands at 79, the highest in the world, with 99 cases having been reported.

According to the commission, there is no indication that the virus has reached pandemic proportions or that human-to-human infections have occurred.

Some 57 percent of human infections have come from direct contact with dead or live infected poultry, 29 percent from living in an infected environment or locations close to poultry farms where there have been instances of sick or dead poultry, 1 percent from contact with poultry feces and 13 percent from unknown sources.

"The vaccine does not kill the virus, it only weakens it. However, up to a week after vaccination the virus is still carried in poultry feces," said M. Zoelkarnain Hasan, head of public communication affairs for the Avian Influenza Control Unit at the Agriculture Ministry.

It is estimated that birds vaccinated only once can still carry up to 45 percent of the virus in their feces. "It's important that we are aware that those poultry need to be re-vaccinated two to three times," he added.

This is referred to as the shading phenomena, in which healthy poultry are able to carry the virus. Hasan said intense vaccination and regular cleaning of poultry farms are the most effective preventative measures.

There is no proof yet that humans can be infected by other species of wild birds other than poultry or from other animals such as dogs, cats or pigs.

There are almost 300 million poultry nationwide, 60 percent of which are in Java.

Around two million people in Indonesia make their living from backyard poultry farming.

Maluku recently became the 31st bird flu endemic province, leaving North Maluku and Gorontalo as the only remaining provinces free from the disease.





Source : www.thejakartapost.com