Supari the Amazing Indonesian Health Minister

Here is a great Q & A session with Siti Fadilah Supari, the Indonesian Health Minister, from IndCoup, a really resourceful blogger  from Jakarta.

(I found the blog on the blogs section of the www.birdflubreakingnews.com)  

The Health Minister talks about the TREE MAN, she is against Indonesians exercising, suggests that NOT smoking is more harmful than smoking and has amazing ideas about breakfast and er.. a certain part of the male anatomy!

Here is an excerpt (and the entire interview follows below):

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a bit soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. So you should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger tummy.

Q: Onto sex. What do you think of condoms?

A: Yes they are good idea – I purchased one recently in Jakarta at Sudirman Park for Rp3 billion. Not sure what they’ve got to do with sex though.

Q: No I mean condoms not condos. You know fiesta, durex and the like. But anyway do you think Indonesia is doing enough to promote condom use?

A: Doing enough to promote condom use?! Of course we are! Haven’t you ever heard of Dolly?

Q: You were quoted as saying a penis was the greatest breakfast for women. Why?

A: Because it has a mushroom head, a sausage, two eggs and cream. All the nutrients to make a woman healthy and happy.

Here is the full Interview by IndCoup:

Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari is raising a storm for playing hardball with the WHO. We’ve caught up with her and asked her a few questions…

Q: I`ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong your life. Is this true?
A: Well, your heart is only good for so many beats, and that`s it… so don`t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; I mean that`s rather like saying you can extend the expected life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Just sleep all day long like most teenage Indonesians do.
Q: Should Indonesians exercise more?
A: No. Why should they? My philosophy is: No Pain Is Good.
Q: The WHO estimates at least 25% of all deaths in Indonesia by 2020 will be due to cigarette smoking…
A: But the other 75% will be deaths from NOT smoking – clear proof that NOT smoking is more harmful than smoking.
Q: But Siti – scientists have proven that cigarettes are harmful to the health of children…
A: Fair enough, use an ashtray.
Q: The average Indonesian diet is drowning in fat. Everything seems to be fried. Your opinion?
A: Foods these days are fried in vegetable oil. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
Q: What`s the secret to healthy eating?
A: More vegetables. Eat up your nasi goreng.
Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a bit soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. So you should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger tummy.
Q: Onto sex. What do you think of condoms?
A: Yes they are good idea – I purchased one recently in Jakarta at Sudirman Park for Rp3 billion. Not sure what they’ve got to do with sex though.
Q: No I mean condoms not condos. You know fiesta, durex and the like. But anyway do you think Indonesia is doing enough to promote condom use?
A: Doing enough to promote condom use?! Of course we are! Haven’t you ever heard of Dolly?
Q: You were quoted as saying a penis was the greatest breakfast for women. Why?
A: Because it has a mushroom head, a sausage, two eggs and cream. All the nutrients to make a woman healthy and happy.
Q: Onto “Tree Man” Dede. Why won’t you let him get treatment in the US?
A: To show how much we care about him, we just so happened to appoint a team of doctors the day the story was broken on the Discovery Channel. Prior to that he had lived a peaceful life and didn’t need any help whatsoever. He was even making a good living by working as part of a local Freak Show. His ailment is a blessing and not a curse! And now you think we should allow him to get free medical treatment overseas?!! My God as if any Indonesian would want that!!! … but paying for it ourselves is okay of course … (smiles, blushes slightly)
Q: And what about WHO claims that Indonesia’s refusal to share bird flu virus samples raises the risk of a global pandemic breaking out?
A: As if these foreigners would do anything for us!
Q: Er.. aren’t you forgetting Aceh?
A: Mau minum segelas Bir Bintang mister? It’s made from vegetables you know….

Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari

Sources:

http://indcoup.blogspot.com/2007/11/exclusive-q-session-with-siti-fadilah.html

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

There are FIVE Bird-Flu Viruses now!

According to TEMPO INTERAKTIF, the premier Indonesian Magazine, the development of H5N1 bird flu virus in Indonesia has been faster than that of any other country. 

In fact it appears that the Bird-Flu virus in Indonesia, has mutated and split in to Five different varieties of the H5N1 strain.

AIRLANGGA UNIVERSITY.

Dr.C.A. Nidom a molecular biology researcher from Airlangga University, Surabaya, said on Monday (26/11),

that in Indonesia the H5N1 virus has already mutated to five subdivisions.

“In other countries however, the mutation found was only three virus variants,” said Dr. Nidom.

The subdivisions of mutated virus in Indonesia are divided into type A, B, C, C1 and D.Categories A and B have spread in Sumatra, with category C in Kalimantan.

Category C1 has spread in several places, while category D is found in Papua and southern Sumatra.

“We’re also surprised that the virus in Indonesia is under local law, so between one area and

 the other they’re different. The virus even mutated,” added Dr Nidom.

Therefore, now a molecular review is still required in order to identify the different characteristics

of the virus types.

That way different strains of the virus can be handled differently, according to their individual characteristics.

Siti Fadilah Supari, the Indonesian Health Minister

Sources:

http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/nasional/2007/11/26/brk,20071126-112338,uk.html

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Indonesia wants Weird Treeman’s Virus samples back

In an amazing outburst, Indonesia’s Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari, lambasted the US doctor currently treating the 35-year-old man, who has the rare affliction caused by the Human Papilloma Virus.

The Indonesian fisherman who developed tree-like growths on his hands and feet was being treated by specialist doctors who had taken some blood samples from him in order to try and find the right treatment for the disease.

Instead of being thankful to the doctors for their efforts, the Indonesian Health Minister criticised the doctors trying to treat the afflicted fisherman.

Mrs Supari, who has famously refused to share bird flu samples with international scientists, made her comments on Sunday after returning from a World Health Organisation (WHO) conference in Geneva.

“We are offended because the samples were taken from Dede without our permission,” she told reporters at the hospital where the man was being treated. “If they are taken abroad, they could become lucrative commodities.”

Her comments have now offended Dr Gaspari, an American dermatologist at the University of Maryland, who maintains that, while he took the samples without permission, his sole motivation was getting treatment for the man.

Known simply as Dede, the man, who lives in a village south of the capital Jakarta, has massive root-like warts growing from his arms and legs which have gone untreated for years.

“We did take samples, and the reason we did was to render a diagnosis. We did it for humanitarian reasons, to help the patient,” Dr Gaspari said, stressing his willingness to put in writing that the samples were not for commercial use.

Mrs Supari has steadfastly refused to share samples of the deadly H5N1 strain of the Flu virus.

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/26/wtree126.xml

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Bird-Flu and the two million strong gathering at the Hajj

The Saudis have “culled” more than 3.5 million Chickens to try and fend off the Bird-flu virus from their country..

I believe that is the largest amount of poultry destroyed due to a Bird-Flu outbreak at one time in the world.

The problem of the current outbreak of the killer virus for the Saudis, could be made more problematic due to the the Hajj.

The month of Dhul Hijjah begins on December 11, 2007, with the week of the Hajj beginning on December 18, 2007.

An estimated two million pilgrims participate in this annual pilgrimage of Hajj.

Even though Mecca, the destination of the pilgrims, is at some distance from Jeddah,

(the current location of the Bird-Flu outbreak), the added risk of millions of pilgrims,

from as far away as Indonesia gathered in the Kingdom is a potential problem.

Tom Cruise Movie and Bird-Flu

A cute cartoon via “life of lab animals”.

« Life of Lab animals – unnatural love

Life of Lab animals – new Tom Cruise movie and bird flu

The original site:

( found in www.birdflubreakingnews.com)

http://spuriousmonkey.com/?p=116

Brit Bird-Flu Agency faces $600 Million Budget Cuts.

Brits are asking: Where Have our Tax Pounds gone?  

In an Alice in Wonderland scenario, the Brits have decided to cut funding from the main agency that takes care of the problems related to Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The British Government has announced that the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is to face a budget cut of almost $600 Million!

The UK has not only been host to the latest Bird-Flu outbreak, but also, recently has had the devastating foot-and-mouth disease, along with the “bluetongue outbreak” which sounds as bad as its effect on the sheep.

The British public and the British Businesses have been paying increasing amount of tax over the last ten years during the Labour Government and find that more and more of their public services are either being reduced, or cut altogether.

Brits are asking where has our money gone?

Here is a very good post regarding the above, from Cllr Tony Sharp,

a Conservative Councillor for Brickhill Ward in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire in England.

http://tonysharp.blogspot.com/2007/11/why.html 

(I found Tony’s post in the blogs section of www.birdflubreakingnews.com )

British are Counting Their Chickens

The British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has organised a poultry census.

The census is being carried out within the 10km surveillance area set up around Redgrave Park Farm – where the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu was confirmed earlier this week – to establish exactly how many birds were there.

AN army of volunteers has visited more than 3,000 homes within the bird flu surveillance zone in a bid to prevent the virus spreading.

Defra’s regional operations director Heather Peck said: “We are still in what the chief veterinary officer has called a period of uncertainty.”

She said council workers had volunteered to help carry out this work and to give advice to residents on what to look out for.Speaking to the EADT on a visit to the region, East of England minister Barbara Follett praised farmers for the way they had dealt with the current bird flu outbreak and the bluetongue cases earlier this year, as well as those now leading efforts to contain avian influenza.“This is a really professional operation. What is so impressive is seeing so many different agencies working with the owners of poultry,” she said.“There is no sense of frantic activity but a great deal of care being taken regarding public safety.

Defra has traced every movement on and off Redgrave Park Farm, including checking feed lorries, waste trucks, straw trucks and rodent control workers.

Poultry at Grove Farm, Botesdale, was slaughtered on suspicion of having the virus after dozens of birds were found dead by officials. But tests on 30 birds showed they did not have the virus.

Redgrave Poultry’s operations director Geoffrey Buchanan said no evidence of bird flu had been found at three other sites operated by the company in the wider restricted area where precautionary culls are underway.

All four premises share staff with Redgrave Park, and were being culled because of fears they had been exposed to the virus through workers.

Mr Buchanan said Defra began culling birds at Hill Meadow Farm, Knettishall, Suffolk, yesterday and would be starting culls at Stone House, West Harling, Norfolk, and Bridge Farm, Pulham Market, Norfolk, last night.

Sources:

http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=News&itemid=IPED17%20Nov%202007%2007%3A59%3A51%3A527 www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/…www.birdflubreakingnews.com

.

Mass Deaths of Thai Fighting Cocks caused by Bird-Flu?

Thai Fighting Cocks are being tested for the Bird-Flu virus, following mass deaths of the Warrior Chickens in Thailand.

The officials of the Health Ministry of Thailand fear a possible Bird-Flu outbreak during this winter.

Some 800,000 health volunteers spread throughout the country have been assigned to monitor sick poultry and people.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Prat Boonyawongvirot said Saturday he had urged volunteers to inform health officials immediately if any poultry perished.

“Then they’ll be checked for the virus,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary said that the ministry had equipped district and provincial hospitals with sterile rooms to treat bird-flu patients.

The ministry also stressed that children should stay away from chickens or birds that fell ill or died under inexplicable circumstances.

Suspicious mass deaths of fighting cocks in Nong-pangpuay village of Kaoliew district have been reported.

The dead chickens had symptoms similar to those caused by the bird flu virus.

Headman Yongyuth Thongchoop said that the officials were trying to investigate the cause of the mass deaths of chickens in the area and will destroy the carcasses.

However, villagers protested against officials who tried to get samples of dead chickens to test in the lab, because they do not want their prized possessions to be culled, he said.

Phin Khanjiek, a villager, said he wants authorities to confirm the virus infection before sacrificing his fighting cock because he had bought it at a high price.

Dr Thawat Suntrajarn, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said the Bureau of Epidemiology was monitoring 2,036 patients suffering from general flu and pneumonia admitted to hospitals across country.

As of Thursday, no bird-flu cases have been reported in those patients.

Source:

http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/17/national/national_30056505.php

www.thaiphotoblogs.com/index.php?blog=5&p=160… 

www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-54966.html

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Bird-Flu follows the Super Cyclone in to Bangladesh

A powerful cyclone has hit the coast of Bangladesh, with winds reported to be up to 240 kilometres (155 miles) per hour.

Cyclones are not new to Bangladesh and the authorities face a huge task if they are to prevent a major loss of life.

 

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world: nearly all the country is low lying and vulnerable to flooding.

An estimated 10 million people live in Bangladesh’s coastal areas and there is simply not enough room for all of them in the country’s 500 or more shelters.

If that was not enough, Avian flu has re-emerged in Bangladesh after four months, with five reported new outbreaks in poultry farms across the country since October.

The contagious viral disease was first detected in Bangladesh in March 2007. Since then there have been 55 outbreaks in 19 of the country’s 64 districts.

To halt a further spread of the virus, more than 250,000 chickens have been culled since the original outbreak.

“But indirect losses to farmers far surpass the direct loss,” veterinarian Abul Kalam Azad of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told IRIN in Dhaka, the capital.

Many farms have downsized operations, resulting in significant layoffs and the suspension of business, while producers of poultry feed and farm equipment have also been hard hit.

“The whole US$2 billion industry is in a very nervous state,” Azad explained.

A fresh influx of migratory birds is raising further concerns. Hundreds of thousands of Siberian water fowl arrive in Bangladesh from mid-November, taking refuge in the country’s vast rivers, lakes and marshlands.

“The winter months are likely to see more outbreaks,” ASM Alamgir, a virologist at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, warned.

Risk factors “At 795 persons per square kilometre, Bangladesh has the highest population density in the world.

This close proximity of human beings is a risk element for transmission of any contagious disease like flu,” Nazrul Haq, a member of the government’s technical working group on avian influenza risk, said, adding that the hot and humid environment helps pathogens spread quickly. Further compounding the problem is the prominent role of poultry farming.

Almost all rural households keep chickens as a source of cheap protein, with about 2.4 million rural women depending on backyard chicken farming as their only source of livelihood.

Even well-off families in Bangladesh raise a few chickens to supplement their income. As a result, communicating appropriate bio-security practices such as separating domestic flocks from wild ones, hygienic slaughtering and waste disposal, use of masks while cleaning chicken coops, disinfection before and after working in poultry farms, as well as the use of personal protective equipment is already proving difficult

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7096561.stm

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/2b7c451a508fea8f8a09f9a55cd36b40.htm

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Brits could be paying $220 for a Turkey this Christmas

A total of 22,000 free range turkeys are being culled on four farms after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in East Anglia.

The decision was made after the four sites were identified as having “dangerous contact” with the infected farm at Redgrave, Suffolk.

The problem is that there are five million turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese within a six-mile radius of the farm at the centre of the scare, on the border between Suffolk and Norfolk.

There are 25million in the wider ‘at risk’ zone.

The two counties produce up to a third of home-produced turkeys.

Bird flu could cause the price of Christmas turkeys to rocket this year, with organic birds likely to cost more than $220.

Animal health officials are today checking whether any other flocks of poultry could have been exposed to the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu discovered on a free-range turkey farm in East Anglia.

As many as two million turkeys are now regarded as at risk following an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at a Suffolk poultry farm.

Prices have already risen sharply this year because of the spiralling cost of wheat feed. It makes up two thirds of the diet of farmed turkey and costs 70 per cent more than two years ago.

Now butchers and supermarkets are concerned that, if the outbreak spreads, British farms will not be able to supply enough fresh birds to meet demand at Christmas.

And there are still fears the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease is being spread by wild birds.

The outbreak has already resulted in the slaughter of 6,000 turkeys, geese and chicken at the farm, operated by Gressingham Foods. Further culls are expected in the next few days because workers are believed to have travelled to other farms owned by the company. It is believed the birds are being gassed.

There are also concerns that the virus has been carried to as many as 90 other farms within the six-mile radius by wild birds and ducks.

Scientists working for the food and farming department Defra confirmed yesterday that the bird flu is the H5N1 version of the virus, which is highly contagious.

Food and Farming Secretary Hilary Benn admitted there could be further outbreaks in the next few days.

The Conservatives accused the Government of putting farms and food supplies at risk by starving local authorities of the money needed to contain animal disease outbreaks.

They said only £8.5million of a promised £9.7million had been given to councils – a funding cut of 12 per cent.

The Food Standards Agency yesterday issued a public health bulletin insisting that there is no risk of contracting bird flu from eating poultry.

It said: ‘Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat. The science shows that the virus isn’t contracted by eating food but by close contact with infected birds.’

Despite the reassurances, turkey farmers will be worried that consumers could turn against their product and choose an alternative meat for Christmas.

Retail industry expert Stuart Whitwell, of Intangible Business, said: ‘This is a very frightening time for turkey farmers. If the virus spreads that could have devastating consequences for sales.

‘On the one hand, you could see a shortage of fresh birds. On the other side of the coin the reputation of turkey meat becomes tainted. Either way, sales and income will suffer.’

  

 

Sources:

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/bird+flu+22000+turkeys+to+be+culled/1047857

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23421047-details/Bird+flu+could+lead+to+%C2%

A3100+Christmas+turkeys+as+culls+take+place+on+four+farms/article.do

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Fear of Birds

Fear of Birds

The other day I watched “Birds” the great 1963 Hitchcock’s classic, about repeated attacks by all kinds of birds on a woman (Tippi Hedren) in an isolated California community.

 

It was amazing to see the great director creating a real sense of fear, from a subject that is as ordinary as can be.

I mean, Birds are to be looked at and admired.

Birds are not to be feared.

But then that was before there was the Bird-Flu!

I wonder what the master director cold have done with the H5N1 virus!

Here is a short clip about a guy who is hand feeding seagulls!

“Hand Fed Seagull By Scarpace”.

 Hitchcock would have loved it:

http://www.fargone.com/2007/04/03/hand-fed-seagull-by-scarpace/

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com  

http://hitchcock.tv/mov/birds/images/hbirds.jpg

Bird-Flu Turkey Factory Farm faces Business Disaster

Bernard Matthews (he of the Bird-Flu inflicted Turkey “Factory Farm” fame) is facing a fight for business survival.

Aww what a shame.

I suppose bad Karma does kick ass sooner or later!

Letting all those Turkeys live in the hellish conditions, through out their short miserable lives, must have some consequences.

Apparently the problem with the company became apparent as the true cost of the bird flu crisis was revealed.

(This even though the British Tax Payer paid Bernard Matthews in full, for all the Turkeys that had died of the Bird-Flu virus at his “factory farm” after the out break of the virus)

The crisis has wiped £42m off the value of the company, sending the business crashing into the red for the first and only time in its history.

Accounts released yesterday by Companies House reveal Bernard Matthews Holdings made a pre-tax loss of £25.9m in 2006, compared with a profit of £22.2m a year earlier.

The accounts show that sales and profits had fallen sharply even before the bird flu outbreak in February, with the company hit by the Turkey Twizzlers controversy involving celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

But the impact of the bird flu crisis has pushed the company to the brink, forcing the directors to reduce the value of the company by £42m, because of falling sales and rising costs this year.

Source:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk

Are you a worker with the company in fear for your future?

Contact business reporter Sam Williams on:

01603 772447 or email sam.williams@archant.co.uk

Disturbing Chick Pix

Some Disturbing Chick Pix from Danny Gilleland, who is a is a staff photographer for the Telegraph, working in the Houston/Peach office.

Here is an excerpt from his blog, link for which is listed below:

We did a story in June of 2006 on bird flu. I went to a Macon County chicken farm to get some chicken house art.

Being in a building with 27,000 baby chicks is a strange experience.

Guess not the oddest situation I have been in for a photograph, but still freakie.

Had to put on paper coveralls, covers over my feet, and a mask.

This was for the chickens’ protection, not mine. Hmmmm.

Standard protective measures to prohibit the spread of bird flu.

Standing in there with 54,000 little beady eyes following you around, the hearing thousands of peeps and breathing the heavy air.

Great idea for Stephen King….the photographer trips and falls and is devoured by tiny raptors.

Source:

http://almostinfocus.blogspot.com/2007/11/some-disturbing-chick-pix.html

Bird-Flu in Osama Bin Laden’s Back Yard?

Bird-Flu in Osama Land?

Bird-Flu has been found in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the current abode of Osama Bin Laden.

The Post, the Pakistani News source is reporting from Abotabad, that over 45 thousands chicks were burnt and buried by Buttle Ehtsham Breeder Farm after having confirmed that they were suffering from Bird Flu.

According to details, on October 26, the Ehtsham poultry farm got a report about the spread of Bird Flu, the Livestock Director Mansehra Ali Akbar Khan sent the samples to Islamabad for testing.

Later after receiving positive reports, over 45 thousands chicks were burnt and buried so that the virus might not affect other poultry farms.

The farm manager informed the media people about the loss and said that if the poultry farms owners do not take proper measures, the virus can cause huge losses.

Could it be a cunning plan by the powers-that-be, to finally get the Most Wanted Fugitive in the world?

Source:

http://thepost.com.pk/NatNewsT.aspx?dtlid=126587&catid=2

British Bobbies suing Her Majesty’s Police Force, because they got the Flu!

British Bobbies are suing Her Majesty’s Police Force, because they got the Flu and feel “unwell”!

I am not kidding.

Two North Wales police officers, sent to guard a bird flu protection zone, are suing their force, police said today.

The North Wales officers claim they were not given the same protective clothing as staff from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and later fell ill.

The two officers have not been named.

A North Wales Police spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that a representation has been made to our legal department.

“The matter is still under investigation and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Did you ever?

“Bobbies at Police Week Washington DC May 2007”

Sir Robert Peel would be turning in his grave and Her Majesty Queen Victoria would definitely NOT have been amused.

Mind you, we now have US soldiers suing the US Government because they got hurt in the war!!

Want me to go fight for my country?

OK, as long as I do not get hurt.

Spatial analysis of Bird-Flu in Indonesia

Thanks to Genetika21, (found in the Best Blogs section of www.birdflubreakingnews.com) here is a Spatial Risk Factor Analysis of Human Cases of H5N1 infections in Indonesia, along with figures 1 to 8 below, showing graphic depictions of the same.

The study has found some interesting facts, including:

Most people infected with H5N1 virus lived in the West of Java, more specifically in or around the capital Jakarta.

Human population density is not a risk factor for human H5N1 infections.

Poultry density is very likely a risk factor for human H5N1 infections, but further study is needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Most poultry, commercial and backyard, were also found in the greater Jakarta area, but not in Jakarta city itself.

(The contradictory results of low poultry densities in Jakarta city with a high number of human cases can be explained by the transportation of large number of live (infected) poultry into Jakarta markets.)

The study also showed a lack of association between H5N1 infection in humans and HPAI in poultry.

This was explained by:

A) an effective human disease surveillance system and a less effective animal disease surveillance system. HPAI in poultry is often investigated after the reporting and confirmation of disease in humans. Due to the time gap, disease in poultry is at this stage anecdotal and cannot be confirmed by diagnostic tests.

B) Many people get infected not from contact with their own poultry but by buying infected poultry meat at markets relatively far from their homes. More spatial analysis is recommended for the future to identify other risk factors to help in more targeted preventions such as public awareness campaigns and risk based surveillance.

Figure 1: Indonesia in Asia

Figure 2: Human cases of H5N1 virus infections in Indonesia

Figure 3: Human cases of H5N1 virus infections in Indonesia, on a background of the human population density per km²

 

Figure 4: Human cases of H5N1 virus infections on the island of Java, on a background of the human population density per km²

Figure 5: Human cases of H5N1 virus infections in Indonesia, projected on a background of the poultry density per km² by province

Figure 6: Human cases of H5N1 virus infections and HPAI outbreaks in backyard poultry in Indonesia

Figure 7: Human cases of H5N1 virus infections and HPAI outbreaks in backyard poultry in West Indonesia

Figure 8: Human cases of H5N1 virus infections and HPAI outbreaks in backyard poultry on the islands of Java and Bali

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com (blogs section)

http://genetika21.blogspot.com

Can you blame the Bird-Flu infected Boy?

According to a report in The Straits Time, the parents of a three-year-old Indonesian boy infected with bird flu, have defied hospital orders that he stay in isolation and taken him home.

The boy from Tangerang, a satellite city west of the capital Jakarta, stayed in hospital for just half a day last Saturday, said Sardikin Giriputro, deputy director of Sulianti Saroso hospital.

‘We had no choice but to let the boy leave the hospital as his parents insisted on taking their child home,’ he said.

He added that a patient should remain in isolation until a test showed the infection was over.

Doctors wanted him to remain in isolation to ensure there would be no possibility of human-to-human infection, he said.

The boy was under home observation by medics from a health centre in Tangerang and Wednesday’s report said that his condition was improving, Mr Giriputro added.

Now frankly, I do not blame the parents of the Bird-Flu infected boy for taking him out of the hospital.

I mean, almost all of the Bird-Flu infected patients who have been recently hospitalised in any Indonesian hospital, have died!

So I guess if I was the father of the boy, I would do the same.

However, what is worrying (and in fact not believable) is that the boy was considered to be a possible risk to other people and yet was allowed to leave the hospital.

“Doctors wanted him to remain in isolation to ensure there would be no possibility of human-to-human infection, he said.”

What we know of the Indonesian authorities, it does not seem possible that such freedom of action would be allowed for any one who is infected with the Bird-Flu virus.

Some thing does not seem right here.

But then we are talking of Indonesia so that is nothing new! 

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Asia/STIStory_172291.html

More Bird-Flu in Indonesia!

Yet another Bird-Flu victim in Indoneisa

Now a 9 years old girl called Widya Rahmadai  is hospitalised as a Bird-Flu patient!

(we bloggers love to get the names of the victims – it makes us feel like we are real providers of news !)

Via ANTARA News:

A patient of the Sagulung regional general hospital in Batam has been referred to the Batam Authority hospital for intensive treatment as she was suspected of having been infected with the bird flu virus.

“We are afraid Widya is suffering from bird flu and therefore we have referred her to the Batam Authority hospital for intensive treatment,” the director of the Sagulung hospital, Dr Nenden Siti Komariah, said here on Tuesday.

Dr Nenden worried Widya Rahmadai (9) was infected with the birdflu virus because a chicken had suddenly died near her home.

She said Widya from Kampung Ponjen, Tanjungriau, was first brought to a polyclinic for fever but a medical examination showed the fever was not a common one.

She said she had already reported the case to the local health service for the government to take measures.

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com 

http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/10/30/another-suspected-bird-flu-sufferer-hospitalized-in-batam/

Bird-Flu, a virus with Intelligence?

Yet another Indonesian Child infected with Bird-Flu.

There it is again. 

That drip drip of this slow motion pandemic.

The bestseller Science Fiction novel Dune, by Frank Herbert, features a personal shield that can protect a warrior against all weapons.

There is one weakness in that shield however.

If a weapon is wielded very slowly, it can get past the shield and kill the warrior.

Seems to me, that this slow motion, Bird-Flu virus is doing exactly that.

It is trying to get past the human defences, by killing only a few people at a time, rather than in a mass killing spree.

This way, the humans are not overly concerned about a “pandemic” and some of us even believe that there is no real danger from such a virus.

In the mean time, the virus keeps killing slowly but regularly.

Each year the virus spreads to more countries, than the year before and kills more people, than in the year before.

But not too many countries and not too many people.

After all it is not a pandemic is it?

So here is news of yet another Indonesian Child infected with Bird-Flu, which as we know, is not a pandemic.

According to ANTARA News a three-year-old boy hospitalised in Jakarta has been confirmed as the 111th human bird flu case in Indonesia, the nation worst hit by the virus, a health ministry official said Monday.

Two tests were both positive so the boy is now the 111th confirmed bird flu case,” said Suharda Ningrum, from the ministry’s bird flu information centre.

Eighty-nine of the 111 cases in Indonesia have been fatal.

Ningrum said that the boy from Tanggerang, a satellite city just west of the capital, first showed symptoms usually associated with bird flu on October 22 but was only admitted to hospital on Saturday.

“The boy is still being treated there and reports showed that his condition was good,” Ningrum told AFP, without elaborating.

She said that the boy had been in contact with chickens which later died suddenly. Contact with infected birds is the usual way that humans contract the virus. Two other children from Tanggerang have died of bird flu this month.

Here is an interesting post re Intelligent Viruses:

 http://xark.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/08/viral_conscious.html#more 

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/10/29/toddler-confirmed-as-latest-bird-flu-case-in-indonesia/  

http://xark.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/08/viral_conscious.html#more

Apologies to Professor Kilian for the UN Bird-Flu story.

Apologies to Crof the Prof for the UN Bird-Flu story. 

I apologize to Professor Kilian, if my comments in my last post, “Political Correctness from the UN Bird-Flu Boss?” were in any way taken as suggesting the “bombing of Indonesia”.

I have spent may years in Indonesia and around that region and love all of it.

Well, almost all of it.

There have been some very radical changes recently, that have brought a certain amount of nastiness in that country and in part of that region in my opinion.

But I digress!

The situation in Indonesia is a lot more complex than it appears on the surface.

The current “Bird-Flu policy” is not the result of a strong united Government.

As an example, during the infamous haggling with the WHO for the tissue samples of the victims of Bird-Flu, Siti Fadilah Supari, the Health Minister was fiercely opposed by a number of the other Ministers.

The Bali outbreak finally gave the chance of the opponents of the Health Minister (who were increasingly concerned about the image of the country around the world) to be able to over rule her mad policy.

The secrecy that prevails all things related to the Bird-Flu virus at this time, has resulted in a similar war of opinions raging in the highest echelons of power in that country.

The world can help those in the Government with better judgement, to prevail over the current H5N1 policy makers in Indonesia.

Very strong action must be taken without delay by the global community, against the apparent current policy of hiding of the facts related to the H5N1 virus in Indonesia.

No developmental aid, medical aid, or any other aid of any kind, should be made available to Indonesia, until the Government opens up completely as far as the H5N1 is concerned.

That kind of firm action from the rest of the world would be a great help to those in the Government who understand that H5N1 can not be contained or eliminated by any one country and want to share all their data related to the killer virus with the world.

Surely it is not a lot to ask of the virus inflicted country, to be simply honest about what is really going on in that country, as far as the H5N1 is concerned?

I would like to respectfully request that Dr Nabarro stops pussy footing around with false praise and other “diplomatic” gestures and gets down to the serious business of finding out the true facts about this killer dangerous virus in that country.

In the far east, FACE is the most important factor and basically the current Indonesian policy is all about face.

Some in the Government do not want the country to be seen as the sick nation of the region.

Then there are some factions, who really believe that the H5N1 is nothing but a conspiracy by the West, aimed at vaccinating the Muslim women in Indonesia in to infertility!

Not that Indonesia is the only problem as far as the hidden dangers of the Bird-Flu is concerned.

I believe that Vietnam currently has more cases of the human infection of H5N1 than Indonesia does.

It is just that in Vietnam, they can suppress the news better than they can in Indonesia!

Besides, as we all know, Vietnam has been “Bird-Flu-Free” more times than any other nation on this planet!

Not sure if Vietnam is Bird-flu-Free this week or if there has been another outbreak of the Bird-Flu some where in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Then there is China, the original source of most viruses in the world, including of course, the H5N1 virus.

We can expect many more viruses originating from and mutating in China, as the millions of starving and omnivorous people in the rural areas of that country, kill and devour all of their exotic wild life.

Of course the non exotic Dogs and Cats do not escape with their lives in China either!

Apparently, boiling the dog alive, is the best way to get the skin off easily.

In fact the St. Bernard breed is the best loved dog meat in China.

But that is another story. 

Sources:

urbansemiotic.com/2006/02/03/dog-food/

geography.about.com/library/maps/blvietnam.htm

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Political Correctness from the UN Bird-Flu Boss?

In an example of political correctness gone mad, the UN’s top official on bird flu has praised heightened levels of transparency in Asian countries over cases of the disease!

“To have information promptly is the ultimate goal,” said David Nabarro, the UN’s senior system coordinator for avian and human influenza.”We believe that just about every country is giving us that information promptly,” regarding bird flu cases and human cases of the H5N1 virus, he told journalists.

UN Bird-Flu Boss – David Nabarro

Dr Nabarro highlighted Indonesia, the country worst hit so far by bird flu, for its transparency in alerting global health authorities to any new cases.”The government of Indonesia tells the world when it has problems,” Nabarro said.

NEVER WAS THERE A BIGGER LOAD OF BS!

Over the years that I have followed the slow but sure growth of the H5N1 out of South East Asia, I have never heard any one being more economical with the truth, than Dr David Nabarro, the UN boss for all things Bird-Flu, in his above mentioned interview!

Dr. Nabarro’s apparently politically correct, but totally misleading remarks above, show to us all what a politician has to do these days to deal with different countries and remain in his place of power.

We have recently experienced the “she-had-bird flu” and then “she-did-not-have-bird-flu” fiasco involving no less than the Health Minister of Indonesia.

I t is well known that hospital staff and other medical personal in Indonesia can now face instant dismissal or worse, if they talk to any one who is likely to pass on the information regarding an infection, or a suspected infection of the H5N1 virus to the Foreign press.

Only the authorities decide when and if any such information is to be made public. 

Contacts in that country who are too scared to talk about it openly, say that there have been several large “clusters” of human victims of the H5N1 virus, in different parts of the country in the recent months.

No information about these has been made public.

It is due to the ludicrous way that the UN and the WHO have been dealing with this virus inflicted country, that the things have been getting from bad to worse.

Any pandemic that starts in Indonesia, is not going to remain only in that country, but will most probably effect all of us, no matter where we live.

So this potential viral time bomb involves every country in the world.

Should the world not treat Indonesia as a country in this case really and actively hiding Biological Weapons of Mass Destruction and act accordingly?

Sources:

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/UN_hails_Asian_transparency_over_bird_1024.html

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Flu Pandemic in Slow Motion

It is as if we are watching a pandemic in slow motion.

What we have right now is not the “normal viral Pandemic mode”, resulting in a large number of human fatalities, during a limited period of time.

Instead, there has been a regular drip drip of people dying of the virus almost every week, over the last 4 years or so.

Every now and then, one Government Agency or the other issues a warning, that there is a “real risk of a global pandemic breaking out”.

In response, the global media creates huge bold headlines of the warning, each media source often adding a bit of spice to the said announcement.

This is followed by a few “anti-panic-journalists” who (and I kid you not) offer bets to any one who will take the bet, that there will be no such pandemic!

After a few days the headlines are focused on the next political or commercial crises, or may be a juicy kidnap story and the threat of a viral outbreak is forgotten by all, accept a few bloggers -such as this blog:)- who are apparently obsessed by the Bird-Flu virus.

Every now and then, there is a bold declaration from the Health Minster or a Prime Minister of a country, stating that their country is now “bird-Flu-Free”.

A few weeks later there is yet another outbreak of the virus in that very country.

In the mean time people keep on dying.

Little children seem to be a favourite of this killer virus.

After each of these deaths, there is a flurry of activity from the media, trying to get as much detailed information about the victim as possible.

It seems that the Bird-Flu Blogs vie with each other, to try and get the name of the victim out in public domain before any one else does.

This, even though the authorities and presumably the parents of the child do not wish for the name of their child be made public and provide only the initials of the name of the child.

But then I suppose the Bird-Flu Blogs need to have some kind of a scoop.

Another death of a child fron the Bird-Flu virus is hardly a new story now a days.

So now I have to report another such story.

There is yet another child victim of this Bird-Flu virus as reported by Reuters.

According to an official of the Health Ministry of Indonesia, a toddler from Tangerang, west of the capital Jakarta, has died of bird flu.

The four-year-old girl died on Monday after being admitted to hospital two days earlier, health ministry spokeswoman Lili Sulistyowati said by telephone.

The little girl, who had been suffering from fever, died after being transferred to Persahabatan hospital in Jakarta.

Apparently the officials were still investigating the case, but four chickens had previously died in the girl’s neighbourhood, another official at the ministry’s bird flu centre said.

Why were we not told of the fact that a toddler had indeed been admitted to the hospital in Indonesia with the dangerous viral infection?

We do not know.

I await with baited breath, for the Big Bird-Flu Blogs to tell me the little child’s name however.

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23739948.htm

Pandemic Flu, the True Cost of Cheap Chicken

So we all have a choice.

Keep buying “cheap” factory farmed chickens, turkeys and other un-naturally grown animals (a la Bernard Matthews) and we will get a constant flow of killer viruses coming to get us.

  Bernard Matthews

Or we could buy our food from small farm holdings, using the traditional way of farming.

We may pay a tiny bit more but for that we will not only get healthy food, but also gain great Karma by NOT causing pain and stress to the poor birds and animals during their short lives.

Cheap Factory Farmed Poultry = Bird Flu or worse!

The following article in the journal of the American Medical Association reviews Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching, a book by Michael Greger.

Greger, Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States, discusses how human mistreatment of animals has actually backfired, with factory farming making livestock more susceptible to disease.

He explains how modern livestock production facilitates the transmission and evolution of avian influenza and argues convincingly that the right environment for a virus such as H5N1 to thrive now exists.

The message is that pandemics are not born but rather are man-made—and that there is a price to pay for the modern poultry industry, in which fowl are raised in closed, stressful, unhealthy facilities, facilitating mutation and dissemination of the bird flu virus.

Greger writes that “[It] may take a pandemic with a virus like H5N1 before the world realizes the true cost of cheap chicken.”

Greger also discusses other animal pathogens that may become human threats and argues that the environment that caused the emergence of the H5N1 virus can also trigger these transformations.

The Foreword is by Kennedy Shortridge, PhD, credited with discovering the H5N1 virus in Asia.

Here is the article from JAMA:

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/298/16/1945

Now a 10 year old Girl dies of Bird-Flu in Indonesia.

The Riau province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra seems to be the new Bird-Flu-central in the virus inflicted Indonesia.

Last night (October 20, 2007) a 10 year old girl suspected of having bird flu died at the Arifin Achmad hospital in Riau province.

“She was admitted on Saturday but died less than 12 hours later, at around 11pm (0200 AEST),” said Azizman Daad, a doctor at the Arifin Achmad hospital in Riau province.

Dr. Daad said that samples from the 10-year-old’s body were to be sent to the capital Jakarta for testing to confirm the cause of death.

According to Dr Daad, it was not clear if the girl had such contact with birds.

Local tests indicated that she had bird flu.

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=29&ContentID=44190

http://www.vnagency.com.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/219149/Default.aspx

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071021184810&irec=1

H5N1 Virus more virulent in House Sparrows & Starlings than it was in 1997

A study conducted at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, on the effects of the H5N1 avian influenza virus on small land birds, suggests that the virus is often lethal in sparrows but has lesser effects on starlings and pigeons and does not readily spread to other birds of the same species.  

However, the researchers say their findings also suggest that sparrows and starlings could potentially spread the virus to poultry and mammals.

More importantly the study concludes that compared to earlier reports on the susceptibility of sparrows, starlings and pigeons to a 1997 Hong Kong H5N1 virus, the bird species are more susceptible to the more recent H5N1 isolates used in the study.

The recent influenza [H5N1] virus is therefore showing increased virulence in a mrange of species.

                       House Sparrow

To gauge how the H5N1 virus behaves in small birds, the researchers inoculated sparrows, starlings, and pigeons with four different strains that were isolated from birds. Two of the strains had previously been shown to infect waterfowl in Thailand, and two were recently isolated during wild-bird surveillance in Hong Kong.

The sparrows and starlings used in the study were captured in the wild, while 6-week old Carneux pigeons were bought from supply houses.

At the start of the study, the authors obtained cloacal swabs from the birds to rule out existing influenza A infections.

After the birds were inoculated with the H5N1 strains, researchers placed them in cages with uninfected birds of the same species for 14 days to gauge virus transmission.

The ratio of infected to uninfected birds was 1:1 for sparrows and starlings and 2:3 for pigeons.

Death rates were highest for the sparrows: 66% to 100% of them died, depending on the H5N1 strain they received.

High viral loads were detected in dead sparrows’ brain and lung tissues. However, none of the starlings or pigeons died.

Regular testing after inoculation showed that all of the sparrows and starlings were infected, but infection in pigeons depended on the strain of the virus.

One of the Hong Kong strains infected both sparrows and starlings, as well as all of the inoculated pigeons, though the authors found the viruses replicated relatively poorly in the pigeons.

The authors concluded that that the birds varied in their susceptibility to the H5N1 viruses but that transmission to the contact birds was infrequent.

Compared to earlier reports on the susceptibility of sparrows, starlings, and pigeons to a 1997 Hong Kong H5N1 virus, the current study suggests that the bird species are more susceptible to the more recent H5N1 isolates used in the study.

“Although drawing conclusions on the basis of a single 1997 isolate is inappropriate, these data are consistent with studies that have demonstrated increased virulence or host range for recent influenza [H5N1] viruses in mammalian species,” the authors write.

The researchers conclude that terrestrial wild bird species vary considerably in their susceptibility to H5N1 virus strains, and some species, such as sparrows, could suffer substantial losses during H5N1 outbreaks.

Also, they write that mutations in circulating H5N1 viruses could enhance the role of sparrows and starlings as intermediate hosts.

Full text of the report here: http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/11/pdfs/07-0114.pdf

      European Starling

 Sources:

http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/11/pdfs/07-0114.pdf

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/oct1807birds.html

www.bto.org/images/appeals/housp%2001png.jpg

www.columbia.edu/…/Sturnus_vulgaris1.jpg

Pandemic flu Warning:Children At-Risk(American Academy Of Pediatrics)

A new report co-authored by the American Academy Of Pediatrics and the Trust for America’s Health issues a stark warning.

Its headline warns in large Bold letters- Pandemic Influenza: Warning, Children At-Risk

The report tells us that children would likely be both prime spreaders and targets of a flu pandemic, but they’re being overlooked in the nation’s preparations for the next super-flu, pediatricians and public health advocates reported Wednesday.

The report urges the government to improve planned child protections, including how to care for youngsters if a pandemic closes schools.

“Right now, we are behind the curve in finding ways to limit the spread of a pandemic in children even though they are among the most at risk,” said Dr. John Bradley of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which co-authored the report with the Trust for America’s Health.

Dr. John Bradley

Concern is rising that the Asian bird flu known as H5N1 could trigger the next worldwide influenza epidemic if it mutates to become more easily spread person-to-person.

Children have long seemed particularly vulnerable to H5N1, possibly because they are more likely to touch or play with the diseased birds who spread it. Wednesday’s report says nearly 46 percent of bird flu deaths since 2003 were among people 19 or younger.

Bird flu aside, germ-ridden youngsters already spur regular flu’s spread through communities every winter, and experts have long called for better pediatric pandemic preparations.

 Among gaps cited Wednesday:

A stockpile of anti-flu medications contains only enough pediatric doses for 100,000 children; child vaccine doses are still under study.

No protective face masks come in child sizes, although it’s also not clear that children would tolerate wearing one.

There are no plans for how to feed the 30 million children who rely on the school lunch program, if schools close.

Full report here: http://www.aap.org/new/KidsPandemicFlufnl.pdf

Sources:

http://www.aap.org/new/KidsPandemicFlufnl.pdf

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=1020025OWGV0

http://www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Influenza kills more people than Bird-Flu.

Bird Flu is a scary virus and I hope that we will be able to find ways to protect our selves, when (and if) it starts spreading amongst humans.

But a virus does not have to be scary to be a killer.

The not-very-scary “common” influenza virus kills tens of thousands of people (specially old people) all over the world every year.

In addition, Influenza poses serious risks for people with any kind of chronic medical conditions.

In spite of the above, many people refuse to protect them selves with a flu shot, as recommended by the medical community.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Lung Association and other leading health authorities recommend annual influenza vaccination for those with chronic medical conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and cancer, among others.

Despite these recommendations, vaccination rates among these groups remain low.

Now The American Lung Association is offering a Flu Clinic Locator.

To find a Flu Clinic in your area, enter your zip code into the Flu Clinic Locator to the right.

You will get the date, times, address, and phone number of the Clinics offering flu shots near you, as well as a map showing where the Clinic is located.

The American Lung Association updates the Locator daily, so you will always get the most up-to-date Flu Clinic information.

Here is a link for the Flu Clinic Locator for you and for your friends:

http://www.findaflushot.com/lungusa/friend.php?brand=ala

 

                          The Influenza (Flu) Virus

 

 

Sources:

http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.aspx?c=aqKGLXOAIlH&b=1015035

http://www.cdcfoundation.org

micro.magnet.fsu.edu/…/influenzavirus.html