Don't panic over flu: WHO
Don't panic over flu: WHO
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Thursday that the
increasing number of people showing bird-flu-like symptoms in the
country did not mean that the outbreak was becoming worse.
They asserted there was no evidence yet that the virus could
be easily passed between people in the country -- a troubling
scenario that could lead to a global pandemic that killed
millions.
The statements came amid growing anxiety over the rising
number of suspected bird flu cases here, after the government
earlier warned people of the possibility that the outbreak could
become an epidemic. A number of foreign experts are expected to
meet with government officials here on Friday to assess the
situation.
WHO's representative in Indonesia, Georg Petersen, said that
there was as yet no evidence that the H5N1 bird flu strain had
mutated into a form that could trigger a pandemic, although he
warned that there could be a possible human-to-human transmission
of the disease through close contact with an infected person.
"I think very close contact with a sick person might infect
that caretaker. That is why in hospitals we need to take all
precautions ... That would be, in a way, a human-to-human
transmission, but that demands close, close contact," he told
Reuters.
The case of a father and his two daughters who died in the
Tangerang, Banten, in July might have involved "within-family
transmission," Petersen said.
Thailand earlier reported a case of probable human-to-human
transmission in September 2004, when a 26-year-old woman died of
bird flu after a "prolonged face-to-face exposure" with her
daughter, who was also hospitalized with the virus.
Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO global special representative on
avian flu, said there was so far no biological evidence for the
increased chance of human-to-human transmission.
Neither did a rise in the number of suspected cases point to
an epidemic, she said.
"With increased surveillance, it's not unusual that you would
pick up more cases."
The WHO last week warned bird flu was moving toward a form
that could be passed between humans and the world had no time to
waste to prevent a pandemic. Past influenza pandemics have
killed millions.
Bird flu has killed four Indonesians since July, and two
children who died this week are suspected of having had the
disease. Laboratory test results are expected within days, as 13
other patients are under hospital observation.
The government has increased measures to help curb the bird
flu outbreak after imposing an extraordinary alert status earlier
this week. On Wednesday, the government dismissed the chief of
animal health control, announced plans of a mass cull of chickens
in highly infected areas, and threatened to hospitalize, by force
if necessary, anyone showing symptoms of the disease.
Victims were also promised free medication. Some 10,000
tablets of Tamiflu -- the only treatment so far proven effective
against bird flu in humans -- are now available.
So far, most of bird flu victims have been in the Greater
Jakarta area. On Thursday, the government said it planned to re-
zone poultry farms and slaughterhouses in Jakarta in a bid to
stop the spread of the bird flu virus.
"We will rearrange the poultry industry in Indonesia to
prevent the passing of zoonotic (animal) diseases from animals to
humans," Ministry of Agriculture director-general of poultry,
Mathur Riady said.
Chicken traders and farmers in Jakarta have said bird flu
fears have sparked a sharp drop in sales.