# 2315
(With apologies to Louis Jordan*)
Over the past few months getting reliable news out of Indonesia has become nearly impossible with the Health Ministry actively blocking the flow of avian influenza information at nearly every turn.
While the summer is traditionally a quiet time of the year for bird flu cases, and it is possible Indonesia really is seeing a huge reduction in human infections, it is also possible they either are no longer going out of their way to diagnose the disease, or are simply not admitting when they do.
Very rarely we get brief news stories - like the one last week from Lutra - mentioning suspected human cases. Rarely do we see a follow up, except sometimes we are told they `tested negative'.
The reliability of these tests, particularly once a patient is placed on Tamiflu, is highly suspect.
Although reporting on human cases is down, we are still seeing quite a number of reports of outbreaks in poultry in Indonesia. And newspapers and other media outlets do seem to be taking at least some interest in those.
This report from the Lampung Post, courtesy of bgw in Mt and History Lover on the Wiki.
September 20, 2008
All poultry, especially the chicken livestock in the Antak Seribu Village, County Merangin, Province Jambi, that were reported as positively attacked by the plague of bird flu (Avian influenza) must be destroyed.
On Friday (19-9) in Jambi, the Jambi Province Livestock Section Head, Natres Ulfi, in Jambi, said that because of rapid test results carried out by the local Livestock Service, dozens of tails of area chickens that died suddenly were positively attacked by the AI virus.
The local Livestock Service local was ordered to destroy all available poultry, and to carry out isolation against this village, in order that it not spread to the other villages and other areas.
Furthermore for the area of the closest neighbors, it was requested that incessant spraying or disinfectant be conducted, and that vaccinations be given to available poultry as immunity towards the plague of the deadly illness that could spread to humans.
Exactly what `carry out isolation against this village' means isn't stated, although it does sound a bit like a quarantine.
Whether that refers to people - or just a restriction of the movement of poultry in or out of the village - isn't clear.
Ambiguities such as this are one of the major limitations we face when translating from the Indonesian text.
This is one reason why we always hope that an English language news source like the Jakarta Post will weigh in. Sometimes, though, that doesn't help much - as in the case below.
Bird flu claims hundreds of chickens in Merangin regency
Jon Afrizal , The Jakarta Post , Jambi |
Sat, 09/20/2008 11:37 AM | The Archipelago
Hundreds of dead chickens discovered a few days ago in Merangin regency, Jambi, have been infected by avian flu, an official confirmed Friday.
Head of Merangin's husbandry agency Imam Budi Cahyono said his agency had conducted a rapid test on the chickens in Antak Seribu village and found the animals were infected with the disease.
"Our participatory disease surveillance team concluded the dead chickens were infected by avian flu," Imam said, adding the team had fumigated several areas in the village to prevent the virus from spreading.
The husbandry agency plans to implement focal culling measures for domestic birds living in a one-kilometer radius of the area where the dead chickens were first discovered, he said.
According to Imam, bird flu is endemic to Lantak Seribu, as a similar outbreak took place there last year.
"Basically, we're asking residents to conduct the culling themselves. If we do it, we'll have to get permission from the owners first," he added.
Residents should fumigate with bath soap once or twice a week to prevent the virus from spreading, he said.
"Using bath soap for fumigating is effective. Residents can't just rely on disinfectant, as there is not enough in stock."
Although the chickens are believed to have died at the beginning of Ramadan, the agency only received word of it a few days ago, Imam added.
He called on residents to report any dead chickens to the husbandry agency.
"They have to come to our office. Don't just call us because we won't be able to verify the report," he said.
Residents of Antak Seribu village said they already suspected the same virus from two years was once again responsible for killing their chickens.
"We're afraid the bird flu has come back, just like in 2006," said Wandi, a villager.
No human fatalities have been reported in the village in connection with the virus.
So far this year, there have been 101 bird flu-related deaths nationwide, with the majority occurring in Jakarta, West Java and Banten.
What we do learn from this report is there is a lack of disinfectant, and residents have been called upon to do their own culling - both are indicative of a less than robust control program in the area.
The story also mentions : "No human fatalities have been reported in the village in connection with the virus." While this doesn't rule out `human cases', it is, quite likely, just an awkward turn of a phrase.
It does give one pause, however.
The final paragraph is a real head-scratcher.
So far this year, there have been 101 bird flu-related deaths nationwide, with the majority occurring in Jakarta, West Java and Banten.
The official Indonesian `count' is 112 fatalities over the past 3 years. Where they get 101 bird flu related deaths nationwide this year is a bit of a mystery, but is probably a misprint.
And so it goes.
* Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the later years of the swing era. - Wikepedia entry.
One of Louis Jordan's big hits was entitled : Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens
