Indonesia's bird flu situation 'grave'

March 20, 2008

Avian influenza is deeply entrenched in Indonesia despite an international containment effort, a U.N. report said Thursday.

"The human mortality rate from bird flu in Indonesia is the highest in the world and there will be more human cases if we do not focus more on containing the disease at source in animals," Joseph Domenech, chief veterinary officer of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, said in a release.

Avian influenza has been reported in 31 of Indonesia's 33 provinces. The virus is endemic in Java, Sumatra, Bali and southern Sulawesi, with sporadic outbreaks reported from other areas, the report said.

"The avian influenza situation in Indonesia is grave," Domenech said. "All international partners and national authorities need to step up their efforts for halting the spread of the disease in animals and making the fight against the virus a top priority."

Rate this story - 5 /5 (1 vote)

rank
1
2
3
4
5

view popular

Other News

Dreams may have an important physiological function

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

Nov 12, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (25) | 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- Dreams have long been assumed to have psychological functions such as consolidating emotional memories and processing experiences or problems, but according to a Harvard psychiatrist and sleep ...

China investigates 2 deaths after flu vaccinations

Medicine & Health / Diseases

20 hours ago | not rated yet | 0

(AP) -- Two people in China who received swine flu vaccinations died in the past week but at least one death appears unrelated to the vaccine and the other was being investigated.

FDA questions safety of alcoholic energy drinks

Medicine & Health / Health

Nov 13, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 7

(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration is challenging makers of alcohol-infused energy drinks to prove their beverages are safe, citing complaints that the products can cause risky behavior and injury.

Deepening the search for clues to rheumatoid arthritis

Medicine & Health / Genetics

Nov 09, 2009 | 5 / 5 (3) | 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- The gnawing pain of rheumatoid arthritis is a signal that the body’s immune system has hit the wrong target: its own cartilage and bone.

Review: Reports on Pfizer drug studies misleading

Medicine & Health / Medications

Nov 11, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (4) | 5

(AP) -- Analysis of a dozen published studies testing possible new uses for a Pfizer Inc. epilepsy drug found that reporting of the results was often fudged, indicating the medicine worked better than internal company documents ...