SBY wants swift bird flu investigation

SBY wants swift bird flu investigation

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered Minister of Health
Siti Fadilah Supari on Sunday to determine as soon as possible
whether the recent deaths of three people in Tangerang, Banten,
were caused by the bird flu virus.

Siti said last Friday her office had sent specimens to a Hong
Kong laboratory to determine whether the deaths of a father and
his two daughters were due to the virus. The results would take
at least seven days to process, she said.

"We should not just wait for the test results. We should pick
up the ball (and ask for the test outcome earlier)," Susilo said
after joining a friendly volleyball game against Army Strategic
and Reserve Command (Kostrad) soldiers in Jakarta on Sunday.

The President said he had asked Siti to give him a full
explanation about the cause of the deaths within the next two
days.

Susilo said he wanted the government to be transparent and
efficient in how it handled the case.

His comments came after one poultry worker in South Sulawesi
officially tested positive with the bird flu virus last month,
the country's first confirmed bird flu victim. However, the man
has recovered and has shown no further symptoms of the illness.

Iwan Siswara Rapei, 38 and daughters Sabrina Nurul Aisyah, 9,
and Thalita Nurul Azizah, residents of Tangerang, all died from a
mysterious illness during the past two weeks.

The victims are not known to have had any contact with sick
birds within the past four months, according to the health
ministry. The ministry has also said initial tests for the virus
had been negative. If the victims are found to have contracted
avian flu, health officials fear it could be the first human-to-
human transmission of the highly contagious virus.

"There must be certainty in the case... Nothing should be
covered up," said the President as quoted by Antara. "This is an
era of transparency. What is important is that the government do
all it can to prevent (disease) as early as possible."

The ministry has put more than 300 people who have had contact
with the three victims under observation, saying that none of
them had so far displayed any signs of bird-flu infections, such
as fever and respiratory problems.

The President also appealed to people not to be overly worried
about the dangers of bird flu. However, he also asked people to
report the spread of any infectious diseases to health
authorities as soon as possible.

Siti visited on Sunday the Villa Melati Mas complex where the
three deceased lived to talk with local residents in an effort to
allay fears about the cases.

She said the government had taken anticipatory measures to
treat and prevent any possible spread of avian influenza. They
included providing 44 hospitals across the country with the
necessary support facilities to treat bird flu-related diseases
and SARS.

A special command post had also been established at the
directorate general of disease control and environmental health
agency in Central Jakarta, she said.

The H5N1 strain of the virus is known to have killed 38
Vietnamese, 12 Thais and four Cambodians since 2003.

Last year, millions of poultry died in a bird flu outbreak in
Indonesia
.