Thousands of bird flu drug nears expiry dates

Ni Komang Erviani , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar Fri, 02/13/2009 6:24 PM Bali

Thousands of Tamiflu doses, the WHO recommended drug to combat avian influenza, have reached their expiry dates, a high-ranking official says.

Head of the Bali Health Agency, Nyoman Sutedja, said thousands of Tamiflu were stored neatly in the agency's medicine depot, and many of them would no longer be useful this year.

"We're worried that these Tamiflus are getting close to their expiry dates," Sutedja said after a meeting at the provincial legislative council in Denpasar, Thursday.

The agency first began receiving the drugs from the Health Ministry in 2007, after the first patient died from bird flu. To prevent an outbreak, the ministry has continued to send more drugs.

"And since these drugs were sent to us in phases, a lot of them have different expiry dates," he said.

When asked whether Bali would not have enough Tamiflus should an outbreak occur, Sutedja urged the public not to panic.

"I think bird flu in Bali is still under control.the government itself has an unlimited supply of Tamiflu," he said.

He said bird flu patient could go directly to the three hospitals designated as primary treatment facilities for bird flu patients, namely Sanglah Central Hospital in Denpasar, Sanjiwani Hospital in Gianyar and Regional Hospital in Tabanan.

Meanwhile, head of the Bali Animal Husbandry Agency, Ida Bagus Alit, warned people against contact with fowls suspected of having H5N1 virus.

He said there were still some cases of living fowls being smuggled into Bali through its smaller harbors. The island has more than 20 small, traditional ports along its northern and southern coastlines.

"The public must be aware of fowls from areas outside Bali entering the island. Don't buy fowls infected with bird flu. These fowls would be easy to spot, that is they must be sold at a very cheap price," he said.

Bali recently had another brush with the bird flu. Last week, Jagapati village in the Abiansemal district of Badung saw a resurgence of the virus after officials discovered bird flu in 5 of 15 birds that died suddenly.

These birds were discovered to have been transported from Banyuwangi, East Java, to use in the village's cockfighting arena.

Officials have been stepping up measures to control the flow of the diseases. The Badung Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Agency have culled more than 133 fowls in Jagapati village, while its Denpasar counterparts have sprayed disinfectants in and around the city's birds and pets markets.