Government on alert over possible human avian flu

Government on alert over possible human avian flu

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar/Jakarta

After the latest bird flu outbreak in South Sulawesi, the
Ministry of Health is intensifying surveillance in case of human
infection by the pathogenic virus in the province, officials have
said.

Last week, the ministry was reported to have sent six
specimens from poultry workers in South Sulawesi, with suspected
bird flu infection, for laboratory tests in Hong Kong.

Earlier, at least 77 more samples had been sent in March and
April for similar tests in Hong Kong.

"We sent some blood samples of farm workers from the regencies
of Sidenreng Rappang, Pinrang, Wajo, Maros and Soppeng," South
Sulawesi health office head Muhadir confirmed on Wednesday.

South Sulawesi was hit by avian flu in March. Tests on
chickens found dead in the five regencies showed that the poultry
was infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which allegedly
spread from West Java, where the first case was discovered last
year.

Despite the bird flu outbreak, there were no confirmed cases
of human infection in Indonesia. According to WHO representative
Georg Petersen, the H5N1 virus can infect humans.

"We are sending blood serum from workers with a high
possibility of having contact with infected animals as a zero
surveillance procedure," the health ministry's director general
for communicable diseases, Umar Fahmi Achmadi, told The Jakarta
Post.

He denied that the samples were sent for a laboratory test
because they suspected the workers had contracted human avian
flu.

However, the ministry's handbook on avian flu states that
specimens are taken for testing only from probable bird flu
cases, which it defines as suspected cases.

Ministry of Health director for eradication of diseases
transmitted by animals Hariadi Wibisono claimed that specimens
could also be taken as a necessary precautionary procedure.

"We have sent 77 samples, plus the six others, and are still
waiting for the results," he said, adding that it would take
between two and four weeks to obtain lab results from Hong Kong.

The samples, he said, were taken from workers with the highest
risk of getting infected. "We consider those with high intensity
of contact with infected animals, long working hours and those
who live near poultry farms as people with a high risk of
infection."

Hariadi said that his office had been intensifying bird flu
monitoring in South Sulawesi after the outbreak in March, by
monitoring clinical symptoms in local hospitals and health
centers as well as conducting campaigns on safety procedures for
poultry workers, such as the use of masks and disinfectant sprays
after entering livestock areas.

Currently, the Veterinary Research Agency has only developed
vaccines for poultry, as the development of a vaccine for humans
is still difficult.

Despite the difficulties and lack of research on the
development of avian flu vaccines that could be used on humans,
safeguards can still be taken by minimizing direct contact with
animals that could have been infected.

The World Health Organization said in its website that people
who ate chicken should not worry about getting infected. If the
meat is cooked properly, the avian flu virus will be killed as it
cannot survive at high temperatures. (003)