'All need access to bird flu info'

As the number of Indonesians showing symptoms of bird flu continues to rise, the central government has put the outbreak under extraordinary status, thus obliging it to step up measures to prevent the virus from spreading. How has the government handled the outbreak so far? The Jakarta Post asked some residents for their opinions.

Wiguno Adi, 63, a retired civil servant living in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta.

I live not too far from Ragunan Zoo and the news of bird flu cases in the area has shocked many of us here.

So far, the government has only instructed us not to panic and to keep our environment clean. So what if my house is clean, but an infected bird deposits its droppings there, or my neighbor's chicken runs around and around.

People who keep birds have not been educated on how to keep them clean and healthy.

This country has many good scientists who can work on producing a vaccine. We need to speed up research efforts.

Hendrayanto Kurnia, 36, a pharmacist at a drug store in Cinere, Depok. He lives in Pangkalan Jati, South Jakarta.

The media has been devoting a lot of space to bird flu. That helps raise people's awareness.

However, people working with poultry have not learned from their mistakes and are still not wearing gloves and masks.

This is where the government has failed. Television news reports are not enough. The government needs to disseminate information to a cross-section of society.

--The Jakarta Post