Posted on 06/03/2006 5:49:04 AM PDT by blam
Bird flu risk to Indonesian quake survivors: aid groups
JAKARTA (AFP) - Some quake survivors on Indonesia's Java island have taken shelter in chicken sheds, exposing themselves to the risk of contracting bird flu and other diseases, a British aid group has warned.
More than 100 people left homeless by the quake were sheltering in six large poultry sheds built from bamboo in Pundong in hard-hit Bantul district, said Yolanda Bayugo, health director of the London-based Merlin group in Indonesia.
"We are concerned that people using poultry sheds as shelter are at risk from avian flu and possibly salmonella infection," Bayugo said in a statement.
"One shed was new and had not yet been used to keep chickens. Others, which had been cleared recently, were only partially cleaned and still had chicken droppings lying on bamboo slats," she said.
The group said it had raised its concerns with the health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO), asking that more tents be supplied for survivors.
"Its sad that people who have lost their homes now have no option but to take shelter in places where they are at risk of contracting viruses," said Paula Sansom, who is leading Merlins team in the quake zone.
Last year, the WHO confirmed the presence of bird flu in parts of Java now affected by the earthquake, but there were no reported cases in Pundong or other parts of Bantul, Merlin said.
The WHO has confirmed 36 human bird flu deaths in Indonesia -- the world's second highest number after Vietnam, and the highest number of deaths this year globally.
More than 120 people have died of bird flu around the world since late 2003, the vast majority of them in Asia.
Merlin has been operating mobile clinics and distributing emergency medical supplies in Bantul.
At least 6,234 people were killed, some 46,000 others injured and more than 139,000 homes in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces either damaged or completely destroyed in the 6.3-magnitude quake on May 27.
BF Ping.
Too Bad. How Sad.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.