Bird flu continues to sweep through Asia

Indonesia has taken a tough stance on the containment of the Bird Flu sweeping Asia, but it is not a tough moral stance but an economic one. Indonesia has revealed that is has not undertaken a mass slaughter of poultry, recommended by the WHO, and it seems that economics are the mainstay behind the decision.

Indonesia has taken a tough stance on the containment of the Bird Flu sweeping Asia, but it is not a tough moral stance but an economic one. Indonesia has revealed that is has not undertaken a mass slaughter of poultry, recommended by the WHO, and it seems that economics are the mainstay behind the decision. This announcement came as China reported seven more suspected outbreaks of the disease, poor timing to say the least.The Indonesian government has been involved in only one cull, an official said almost two weeks after Jakarta ordered a mass slaughter under pressure from the World Health Organisation (WHO). This single cull was burning of more than 228,000 chickens last Friday on Bali island. Some countries have destroyed their entire poultry stocks.The WHO has criticised Asian nations for endangering human lives by putting economic considerations first in dealing with bird flu, which has been reported by 10 governments in Asia – where it has claimed 19 lives – and in the United States. “Economics and agriculture are weighing too heavily in decisions taken by governments, and more concern should be given to the risk to human health,” said the WHO’s representative in Thailand, Bjorn Melgaard. The WHO says immediate culling of infected and exposed birds is the first line of defence against the disease. It has warned that millions could die if the virus mutates into a form capable of human-to-human transmission. Top Indonesian Welfare Minister Yusuf Kalla has said about 10 million chickens would have to be slaughtered in his country to control the bird flu and the government is very reluctant to do this.The WHO has often criticized Asian nations for their dealings in regards to disease outbreaks such as SARS and the Bird Flu. It would seem on a number of occasions that details of disease outbreaks are covered up so as not to harm the agricultural and tourism sectors. But if the disease mutates into a human to human form how many tourists will still be alive to leave after their visit to affected provinces?(Source: AFP, ABC Health News Online, Feb 2004)Article by S.Tysoe