A 23-year-old man has died in Jakarta after contracting
the bird flu virus, raising fresh fears of a resurgence of the dangerous strain
in the region, just a week after another death in southern China.
The city authorities yesterday
confirmed the death of welder Puguh Dwi Yanto late on Saturday night, and said
they would conduct sweeping checks for birds in homes and backyards to prevent
the spread of the virus.
In Tanjung Priok in North
Jakarta, where the man lived, health and husbandry officials slaughtered and
destroyed some two dozen birds and burned chicken coops, as North Jakarta Mayor
Bambang Sugiyono looked on.
"People understood the
seriousness of the matter, and did not mind parting with their birds," the
mayor told reporters.
The city authorities also urged
residents to cooperate and not hide birds they were rearing illegally, as they
announced plans for five new poultry slaughter locations to curb the spread of
the virus.
Poultry-rearing for food in and
around homes remains fairly common in the capital even though a ban has been in
place for more than two years now.
The welder came down with a
high fever over the New Year and was admitted to a hospital, where doctors
reportedly diagnosed his ailment initially as a stomach infection. He died
while being transferred to a Tangerang hospital in the south which has a
special unit for bird flu patients.
Dr Dien Emawati, head of
Jakarta's Health Department, told a press conference yesterday that the man was
suspected of having been infected by the virus as he fell sick after one of his
pigeons died.
Local media reported his mother
as saying he had been cradling the pet pigeon.
The family has some 30 pigeons,
eight chickens, two wild ducks and two other birds, and has been given Tamiflu
to prevent the spread of infection.
The victim is the 151st
Indonesian to die of the virus since 2005, according to World Health
Organisation data. Since 2003, some 577 bird flu cases have been detected
worldwide, resulting in 340 deaths, including the latest.
Indonesia has a particularly
high fatality rate, with 183 cases but only 32 survivors.
On Dec 31, a 39-year-old bus
driver died in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where thousands of
chickens had been culled after three birds tested positive for the H5N1 virus
two weeks earlier.
Vietnam last week culled more
than 2,500 chickens on a farm in the Mekong Delta area in an effort to contain
an outbreak.
The latest death in Indonesia
comes weeks after a senior health official warned that Indonesia remains a hot
spot for bird flu, in spite of the number of infections decreasing in recent
years. Last year, the country recorded nine bird flu deaths, down from a peak
of 45 in 2006.
Dr Rita Kusriastuti, director
of animal-borne infectious disease control at the Health Ministry, said late
last month that chickens being kept by many residents in their backyards were
at risk of transmitting the H5N1 virus.
"It's not surprising that
up to now we have had to stay alert on bird flu and even declare our country as
a bird flu hot spot, as we have so far not managed to implement good husbandry
systems," she said.
Jakarta, with about 10 million
people densely packed into an area of 660 sq km - just slightly smaller than
Singapore - has seen 40 deaths in the past seven years.
Yesterday, Jakarta Governor
Fauzi Bowo ordered a thorough investigation into the death, and suggested that
health and agriculture agencies work together to sterilise locations deemed at
risk.
Microbiologist Chairul Anwar
Nidom of Airlangga University in Surabaya, whose team recently produced
Indonesia's first bird flu vaccine seed, told The Straits Times that the city
government needs to enforce the ban on live poultry in the capital more
stringently.
"How many wet markets can
you still find live birds at?" he said. "Given the risk of the virus
being transmitted from humans to animals and our high rates of infection, such
practices should not continue to be tolerated."
Zakir Hussain
The Straits Times
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment