Indo: Bird Flu virus mutation has not occurred

Wednesday, 25 February 2009 17:30 WIB

YOGYAKARTA - MI: Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Bird Flu Control and Preparedness for pandemic influenza, said Bayu Krisnamurti, mutation virus bird flu (avian influenza) has not occurred in Indonesia.

"Hopefully will not happen, has happened is that the virus found in birds such as the outside cats, dogs and pigs in different regions, and that is already there since two years ago," he said on the sidelines simulated bird flu response in Yogyakarta on Wednesday, (25 / 2).

The telling, the incident was not the bird flu virus mutation because it is not from poultry, but other animals. He said that, the number of cases of bird flu in Indonesia from year to year decrease. However the community must remain vigilant against the bird flu virus infection. Based on data since 2005 to 2009 total of 145 people bird flu, 119 of them died.

According to Bayu, for the period January-February 2009 there were four cases of bird flu are all dead. "Previously, in the same period in 2007 there were ten cases, seven of them died in 2008 and of 12 cases, ten of them died," he said.

He said that, the source of most of the live poultry market, which is about 80 percent, because the environment is not so easy to clean the virus spread. "To prevent it in the live poultry market is relatively difficult," he said.

He added, although there have the pressing of a bird flu virus, for example, one day a week in the market and given a clean disinfektan. "There are other ways such as no sales ungas life. But this difficult because of the people," he said.

Say, for the medium term it may be done. "For example, the existing regulation (regulation) problems, and will be applied starting in 2010," he said.

Bayu explained, to prepare for the resources that can merspon happen if a bird flu pandemic, the work with UNICEF to simulate the response bird flu virus that involve various institutions. "They are expected to immediately respond and respond quickly and do not panic if a pandemic outbreak," he said.

In addition, the simulation also antarnegara people to be able to handle the cross-country. [?]

Meanwhile, the UNICEF Representative Central Java - Yogyakarta (Central Java, DIY), I Made Sutama, said UNICEF concerned with the case of bird flu based on the data because the victim was a woman and children that number reaches 60 percent. "This problem is related to the health condition of mother and child who is one of the focus areas of the UNICEF," he said. (Ant/OL-06)