People swing from paranoia to indifference over bird flu

The Jakarta Post Jakarta

From paranoia to indifference, Jakartans have displayed a whole range of attitudes toward the latest reports of bird flu.

As a group, mothers are among the most jittery over this latest health scare. Many mothers have said that they have had trouble sleeping since the government issued health warnings and shut down Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta after several birds there tested positive for avian influenza.

Some mothers have told their children to stay clear of vendors with chickens on their carts.

Some Jakartans have released or sold their pet birds and chickens, fearful of keeping birds in their yards.

"I have bought 10 birds and chickens since Monday. It is unusual for so many individuals to sell their pets here," said Anto Hermansyah, who owns a kiosk at the Barito bird market in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

"This one came in this morning. The owner was a westerner," he said on Tuesday, pointing to two lovebirds in a cage.

The president director of city market operator PD Pasar Jaya, Prabowo Soenirman, said traders at the bird market on Jl. Pramuka in Central Jakarta had seen their business take a severe hit since the first reports of bird flu emerged last year.

"When reports of bird flu appeared last year, the number of visitors to the Pramuka bird market declined by about 50 percent. These new reports have caused a further decline of about 30 percent. The market is very quiet now," he said.

Many residents living near Ragunan Zoo have begun taking preventive measures to protect against bird flu, including taking vitamin C tablets, which is unlikely to have an effect on the disease.

"This morning alone we sold 12 packs of vitamins, which is triple our daily sales," said an employee at the Citra Graha Medika drugstore located 200 meters from the zoo.

City officials closed down the zoo for 21 days beginning on Monday after 19 birds tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.

Officials plan to test birds at other zoos in the country for the virus.

World Health Organization director general Lee Jong Wook urged nations to prepare for a bird flu endemic, saying that they should not be caught unaware by an obvious threat.

However, not all people living near areas where the H5N1 virus has been identified are taking such dramatic measures.

"Disease comes from God; if we do not harm our surroundings, there will be no problem," said Rudi Hartono, a 29-year-old food vendor in front of Ragunan Zoo.

Speaking at a house near the zoo where zookeepers live, he showed no sign of concern as several chickens pecked away at the dirt nearby.

Several people suspected of having bird flu are under observation at Suliyanti Saroso Hospital in Sunter, North Jakarta.

The latest patient to be admitted to the hospital was a five- year-old child, who was transferred to the hospital on Tuesday.

The Jakarta Farming Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture's Directorate General of Farming, plans to take additional samples from birds and poultry at markets throughout the capital.

Prabowo said he had asked the Jakarta Agriculture, Livestock, and Maritime Agency to disinfect all markets operated by PD Pasar Jaya.

"About 80 percent of PD Pasar Jaya's 151 markets have poultry trading areas," he said. (003)