Indonesia has the dubious title, of the country with the highest number of human cases of the Bird-Flu infections and deaths to date.
Extreme poverty, the tradition of keeping live poultry inside the tiny crowded dwellings, along with the “Halal” way of killing the poultry (by making a cut in the throat and letting the blood flow out of the bird) are all said to have played their part, in the on going presence of the virus in the country, with the largest Muslim population in the world.
It is amazing therefore, that with so many of its people suffering from this dreaded virus, the Indonesian Health Minister could be delaying the possible development of a super vaccine, by haggling with the WHO, over the tissue samples of the victims of Bird-Flu in Indonesia!
Indonesian Health Minister
Here is a breakdown of the Bird-Flu infections and deaths in Indonesia, by its provinces:
Province Infections Deaths
West Java 29 23
Jakarta 25 22
Banten 12 10
Central Java 9 8
North Sumatra 8 7
East Java 7 5
Riau 3 2
West Sumatra 3 1
Lampung 3 0
South Sulawesi 1 1
South Sumatra 1 1
Source: WHO
Filed under: 1918, Anti-viral, Avian Flu, Bangladesh, Bird Flu, Bird Flu protection, Bird-Flu Map, Central Java, Chickens, Crows, Eggs, Flu Summit, Guangdong, H5N1, H7N2, Hollywood, Human Bird Flu, Human-To-Human H5N1, India, Indonesia, Indonesian Health Minister, Infection, Influenza, Jakarta, Pandemic, Politics, Poultry, Poultry Factory Farms, Sex, Singapore, Siti Fadilah Supari, Sungai Buloh, Tamiflu, Turkeys, UK, UNICEF, USA, Vietnam, Virus, WHO, Water Birds, asymptomatic H5N1, bio containment lab, vaccine
She is haggling for a reason. To give the drug company that is working on the birdflu in Indonesia time to finalize their vacine/product. No competition if WHO does not get the virus.