Thursday, March 19, 2009

Government Provide Rp200 Billion For Bird Flu Research

[google translation]

19/03/09 17:54
Surabaya (ANTARA News) - The government provides funds Rp200 billion to finance various research on the disease bird flu (Avian Influenza / AI), as well as prevention efforts and protecting/controlling.

"Already the funds provided Rp200 billion per year for that. Help is also overseas, but we remain in control," said Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari after speaking international symposium on bird flu at the University of Airlangga (UNAIR) Surabaya, on Thursday.

He added that his side have a basic mechanism related to the provision of government funds and the use of foreign assistance funds to research bird flu disease.

"There is selection, the only quality approved. Research with assistance from abroad also have their own mechanism," he said.

Separately, Head of Research and Development of Health Department of Health Agus Purwadianto has explained his side have a plan of research on bird flu disease.

"It has been mapped based on the needs, the implementation is coordinated so that does not overlap," he said.

He explains, research on bird flu primarily focused on search techniques and detection diagnosis disease bird flu in humans and the development of bird flu vaccine for humans.

"The point of all that is required for the effort and prepandemik pandemic. For that there must be detection and diagnosis technique that quickly and accurately," he said.

He added that the government has begun research to develop bird flu vaccine production in humans.

"Research and development of vaccines done in the BSL-3 laboratory in the UNAIR and in Jakarta," he said.

According to him, there are currently three units with laboratory safety standards Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3), ie, in a laboratory owned UNAIR, University of Indonesia, and the Eijkman Institute Biomolekuler.

Laboratory BSL-3 Research and Development Agency Health Department of Health, he said, will also be completed and start operation this year.

"That's enough. Tinggal maintenance only, soalnya expensive maintenance costs," he said.

The four BSL-3 laboratory and several regional laboratories in the region are expected to support research activities on infectious diseases, especially bird flu disease.

"In the future, we are no longer left behind and could only follow, but can be parallel or step further from the other," said Minister of Health. (*)

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