Indonesia fears bird flu epidemic
September 21, 2005 - 7:49PM
...Fears of a possibly uncontrollable bird flu outbreak were sweeping Indonesia tonight after the government warned of a potential epidemic.
Expatriates and Indonesians rushed to buy anti-viral drugs and stocks dwindled. Some major Jakarta clinics said they had none and drugs specifically targeted at bird flu are not yet available in Indonesia.
Australia's embassy in Jakarta instructed Australians living in Indonesia, or planning to visit, to obtain supplies of the drug from overseas as a precaution.
In Jakarta today, Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said there was a danger avian influenza in the country of 220 million people could reach epidemic levels...
...The strain has also spread to Russia and Europe...
...Many people stayed clear of poultry markets and newspapers carried banner headlines asking: ``Is it time to panic?''.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) this week warned a global pandemic of the virus would be virtually impossible to stop if it mutated into a form which could easily jump between humans.
``It's obvious that a pandemic will occur, all the conditions are in place,'' WHO director general Lee Jong-Wook said. ``The problem now is time.''
A spokeswoman for the Australian embassy in Jakarta said Australian expatriates registered with the mission were being advised to stock up on anti-viral drugs.
``We urge Australians to look at the travel warnings,'' she told AAP.
``As a precautionary measure we are basically advising Australians to have access to a stock of avian influenza vaccine, as long-term residents are at greater risk of exposure to avian influenza over time.''
...Separately, she said a medical clinic attached to the embassy was advising Australians to have an influenza shot to help rule out ordinary flu as a cause if they became ill...
...It also allowed patients with symptoms of the disease to be forcibly admitted to hospitals.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/indonesia-fears-bird-flu-epidemic/2005/09/21/1126982108980.html
Jakarta has caught my attention today, too...
"advising Australians to have access to a stock of avian influenza vaccine..."
And is there one? I haven't read that there actually is one yet. Unless they mean humans taking chicken meds?