S. Sulawesi ex-farm worker worries about bird flu

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Sinjai

Khairil Anwar, a former chicken farm worker, has taken things in stride since being told he had contracted bird flu in what might be the country's first human infection of the disease.

The 22-year-old resident of Pussanti hamlet in Sinjai regency some 150 kilometers south of Makassar city, tried hard to look strong, although his eyes reflected his worry.

"I'll have to leave it to fate if I really contracted the disease," said the seventh of the family's 10 children.

Similar attitudes were also shown by his parents, Abbas and Khalijah, feeling there's nothing they could do. "If my son suffered the disease, what can I do. Maybe it's his fate," sighed Abbas, a farmer.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), avian influenza or bird flu is an infectious disease usually passed between fowls and caused by the type A strains of the influenza virus. First identified in Italy more than 100 years ago, the disease occurs worldwide, but has shown up in recent years across southeastern Asia.

Fifteen subtypes of the influenza virus are known to infect birds, but to date all outbreaks of the highly pathogenic form have been caused by influenza A viruses of subtypes H5 and H7.

Khairil was confirmed to have it following blood tests taken by the Ministry of Health's lab in Jakarta in March, which showed an increase of bird flu virus type H5N1 antibody in his blood.

WHO also sent its staff to take his blood sample in May to be examined in a lab in Hong Kong, and the results also confirmed the human variant of the bird flu, but those results have not yet been received by Sinjai regency's Health Office or by Khairil.

Deputy head of Sinjai's Health Office, Muhammad Jufri, said when the bird flu hit five of the province's regencies in March, the office took blood samples of 81 poultry farmers and residents living around the affected farms. The results showed one of the 81 samples was infected with the virus.

"It turns out the sample belongs to Khairil Anwar. A second blood sample was taken on May 13," the health official stated, apparently unaware that the Hong Kong results were publicly announced last week.

He said Khairil was not put in isolation since he showed no symptoms of the disease, such as high fever or breathing problems. So Jufri, said it was not necessary and is assuming that the virus might be less contagious, unlike the cases found in other countries like Thailand and Vietnam.

"If we isolate him, it will make people worried," Jufri said.

Vietnam has been hit hardest by this year's outbreak of the virus, which erupted across much of eastern Asia at the end of 2003 and has killed 46 people -- 33 Vietnamese, 12 Thais and a Cambodian.

When The Jakarta Post met him, Khairil looked fresh and healthy, busily planting tobacco. He has gone back to his hometown in the last two months after a poultry farm where he worked in Soppeng regency went out of business after being hit by the virus, killing 10,000 chickens in just 20 days.

While working at the farm, Khairil was completely unaware of the danger of bird flu or the precautionary measures that should have been taken, such as wearing masks or gloves to shield him from infection. No officials had ever come in to provide the poultry farmers and workers with such information.

He only learned there might be something wrong with him after WHO staff came to take his blood sample for the second time, all the while asking about his health condition and then gave him Rp 500,000 (US$53) to go to the doctor in case he felt sick.

"I felt no changes. I feel healthy and can work as usual," Khairil said.