[Kabar-indonesia] North Sumatra focus of bird flu fight [+ST: India's polio threat to SE Asia]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: Indonesia: Suspected Bird-Flu Patients Still In Hospital;
ST/Thailand: Scramble to contain bird flu after outbreaks hit 
region; and ST: India poses polio threat to S-E Asia

The Jakarta Post
Thursday, August 3, 2006

North Sumatra the focus of bird flu fight 

Adisti Sukma Sawitri and Apriadi Gunawan, 
The Jakarta Post, Medan

photo: On the Sick List: Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare 
Aburizal Bakrie and Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari (second right and second 
left, 
wearing masks) talk Wednesday with Elvi Febrianti Sitepu (right) and her 
younger sister Dedek (left), two of the three suspected bird flu patients 
currently undergoing treatment at Adam Malik Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra. 
(JP/Apriadi Gunawan) 

The government has pledged to intensify measures to curb bird flu in Karo 
regency, North Sumatra, site of another suspected human cluster after seven 
members of 
one family died in an outbreak in May.

Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said here 
Wednesday special policies would be introduced to deal with the threat. He told a 
a meeting with local officials in the provincial capital of Medan that the 
government would expand the area for mass culls of poultry from the location of a 
human or bird death, from the current one kilometer radius to five 
kilometers. 

The government also plans to increase compensation for owners of infected 
fowl from Rp 10,000 (US$1.10) to Rp 12,500, in accordance with the request of 
locals. 

"We will issue the formal regulation soon because this is an emergency 
situation which needs special attention from the central government," Aburizal said. 

To coordinate the action, the government has set up an emergency post in Karo 
regency, where the May cluster and this week's suspected outbreak occurred. 
The team is authorized to provide medicine for suspected bird flu patients, and 
also has medical equipment for their treatment. 

Aburizal, accompanied by Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari and Agriculture 
Minister Anton Apriyantono, made an impromptu visit Wednesday to the province 
to check on the condition of three more residents suspected of contracting 
H5N1. 

The Karo health agency recommended Tuesday the hospitalization of three 
children -- two sisters aged 10 and six and an 18-month-old male neighbor -- at 
Medan's Adam Malik Hospital after they exhibited bird flu symptoms, including 
high fevers and respiratory problems. 

Preliminary tests indicated the boy had pneumonia, but a blood test will be 
conducted for confirmation. 

Authorities had culled poultry in their village of Sumbul after five chickens 
tested positive for avian influenza. 

Sumbul in Kabanjahe district is about five kilometers from Kubu Sembelang 
village. It was the site of the largest recorded cluster to date in May, when 
seven members of a single family died of the virus. One man survived. 

The WHO concluded that limited human-to-human transmission probably occurred, 
but the virus did not spread beyond blood-related family members. 

The ministers, dressed in sterile medical suits and goggles and accompanied 
by local officials and journalists, also visited Sumbul. 

But they were met by the same suspicion that marked initial outreach efforts 
with locals in Kubu Sembelang. 

"Take off those costumes or get out of here," some locals shouted at them. 
"There is no bird flu outbreak here." 

Some villagers also jostled with the officials. 

Community leader Reket Ginting explained the locals' resistance was due to 
feelings of insecurity about the sudden visit. "If they want to help, why don't 
they first explain the aims of their visit?" 

The ministers stopped at the village hall to inform the community about the 
planned mass cull of poultry. 

Villager Lustri Br Ginting said she was not opposed to a cull, but said it 
should be done quickly to ensure the eradication of the virus. 

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Indonesia: Suspected Bird-Flu Patients Still In Hospital

MEDAN, Indonesia, Aug. 2 (AP)--Seven Indonesians from the same village on 
Sumatra island remained hospitalized with symptoms of bird flu Thursday, but 
doctors said their condition was improving. 

The patients - all from two families - are being treated as suspected 
bird-flu cases because they lived in an area that had infected poultry and had cough 
and light fever. Officials feared the formation of two new H5N1 virus 
clusters. 

Three were hospitalized in Medan and the others in Kabanjahe with fever and 
cough. 

"Their condition is fine, but they are still under observation," H. Luhur 
Soeroso said of the Medan patients. 

The others also "were getting better," said Muhamad Nadluwi of the health 
department's bird flu center. 

Blood samples from all seven have been taken and are being tested for the 
virus. 

Indonesia has had 42 human deaths from the H5N1 strain of the virus since 
July 2005. 

It grabbed world attention in May when seven members of a single family died 
of the virus - the largest recorded cluster to date - also on Sumatra island. 

Among those being treated this time are two sisters, 10 and 6, and an 
18-month-old boy from the house next door. 

Most humans who have contracted the virus had contact with infected poultry. 

But experts fear the virus will mutate into a form that spreads easily among 
people, potentially sparking a global pandemic. So far, at least 134 people 
have died worldwide since the disease began spreading in Asia in late 2003. 

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The Straits Times (Singapore)
Thursday, August 3, 2006

Scramble to contain bird flu after outbreaks hit region

Nirmal Ghosh, Thaiand Correspondent

BANGKOK - GOVERNMENTS across South-east Asia are scrambling to keep
bird flu from spreading, amid reports of new outbreaks flaring up
around the region.

In a particularly worrying development, Indonesia reported seven new
suspected cases in a village in the Karo district in North Sumatra
province, where bird flu killed as many as seven people in an extended
family in May.

That outbreak triggered fears the H5N1 virus had mutated into a form
that could spread easily between people.

The new patients, who are in stable condition, include three children
who come from the same sub-district where the world's first case of
human-to-human transmission of bird flu took place last year.

In Thailand, meanwhile, officials from 21 provinces met in Bangkok to
tighten measures to curb the virus in the country's north and
north-east, where 80 patients are being monitored for infection.

Malaysia is also maintaining a high alert along its border with Thailand.

The country is gearing up for a massive bird flu pandemic simulation
exercise, and acting director-general of veterinary services Mustapa
Abdul Jalil called for cooperation to ensure that dead or live
chickens and their products were not smuggled in.

'We need the support of all government departments and agencies to nab
smugglers,' he said.

So far, at least 134 people worldwide have died from H5N1, with
Indonesia and Vietnam the hardest hit with 42 deaths each.

Thailand has reported 15 fatal cases, the latest being a 17-year-old
youth who died in Phichit province in the lower northern part of the
country on July 24, the country's first human death in over seven
months.

A Food and Agricultural Organisation official said that overall,
'Thailand has been a success story mainly because of its effort on an
inter-ministerial level in terms of mobilisation of people and money'.

But he added that it was crucial to identify the source of the new
outbreak: 'Thailand's surveillance system, however good, needs to be
enhanced.'

Thai officials are trying to avoid a repeat of the Phichit case, in
which the youth's family did not report their sick chickens, fearing
their entire flock would be culled. Critics have urged the government
to pay more compensation to farmers to encourage prompt reporting.

In a bid to contain the problem the government has said it will fine
or jail anyone found transporting birds illegally, dumping carcasses
in the open or burying dead poultry without informing livestock
officials.

'We are confident that Thailand can control the spread of the
outbreak' Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters on Tuesday.

But some governments, like those of Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are
ill-equipped for the fight.

In Laos, a poultry cull near the capital Vientiane has been under way
since H5N1 was detected on a state-owned farm about 25km south of the
city last month.

Thailand has offered to help Laos with expertise and resources, but
Laos yesterday cancelled a bilateral meeting on bird flu.

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The Straits Times (Singapore)
Thursday, August 3, 2006

India poses polio threat to S-E Asia

Vaccination is viewed with suspicion in poor regions where there's an outbreak

Ravi Velloor, India Bureau Chief

NEW DELHI - A POLIO outbreak in one of India's poorest regions is
raising concern that the disease that leaves limbs paralysed could
spread to more parts of the country and outside it.

India has recorded 137 polio cases this year, four-fifths of them in
the western part of Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state.

The state next door, Bihar, has 13 cases while the states of
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal have one case each.

That compares with a total of 66 cases across the country in all of last year.

With the monsoon-drenched months of July to August being the prime
breeding time for the virus, the fear is that the numbers may balloon
further.

At risk are not only millions of children but also one of the most
successful health programmes in India.

The polio immunisation campaign popularised by Bollywood icon Amitabh
Bachchan has thousands of health workers knocking on every door in the
country over a span of just 10 days each year.

Other countries too may be at risk from polio, including those in
South-east Asia.

'Right now, five countries have been infected with the virus
originating from India - Bangladesh, Nepal, Angola, Namibia and
Congo,' said Dr Jay Wenger, a World Health Organisation specialist who
runs India's National Polio Surveillance Programme. 'Each of these
countries had managed to get rid of polio in the past. For this
reason, East Asia isn't entirely invulnerable either.'

The polio outbreak recorded last year in Indonesia was caused by a
virus that originated in Nigeria. That shows how far the virus can
travel and is a 'point of worry', he added.

India spends about US$200 million (S$320 million) a year on polio
eradication, in a programme that immunises 170 million children aged
five or less.

Ten years ago, the country recorded some 10,000 polio cases annually.
In 1998, when the programme started, this dropped to about 4,300.

'India has been doing well in the polio eradication programme and the
number of cases has been steadily dropping. But this year has been a
disappointment,' said Dr Wenger.

Mr Michael Galway, Unicef's New Delhi-based chief of programme
communication, calls polio 'a disease of poverty'.

In India, the most affected area is Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.

In Uttar Pradesh, the most marginalised community is the Muslims, Mr
Galway said.

Moradabad, and other towns such as Rampur, Bedaun and Bareilly - all
with heavy Muslim populations - have been the 'reservoirs for the
disease', health experts said.

Field doctors said illiteracy, superstition and dogma impede their
efforts in backward regions such as those where humans and cattle
mingle freely, sanitation is poor and the water supply is often
contaminated.

Dr Karamvir Singh, an immunologist in Western Uttar Pradesh, remembers
being chased away with sticks and stones when he knocked on some doors
to inquire if the children at home had been protected from the virus.

'Some Muslim women refused to give the vaccine to the boys, saying
this was a Christian plot to hold down the Muslim population by
administering drugs that cause impotence,' Dr Singh said.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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