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Re: Indonesia Human Cases - April 9, 2008+
Indonesia's new bird flu policy on reporting deaths leads to confusion, anger
2008-06-13
BITUNG, Indonesia (AP) - Ali Usman's wife died of bird flu 10 days ago, but he still has not been officially notified by the government. Desperate for information, he scours the newspapers, which until last month aggressively wrote about deaths in the country hardest hit by the disease, but finds nothing.
That's because of a new government policy to no longer publicize individual bird flu cases immediately _ an attempt to shift media attention that politicians say focuses too heavily on deaths instead of successes. From now on, fatalities will be announced in clusters, perhaps just a few times a year.
The news blackout worries health experts and has left government officials and people living in areas worst affected by the virus confused and frustrated.
It took The Associated Press a week to track down and confirm the June 3 death of Usman's wife, Susi Lisnawati, which raised the country's toll to 110.
Though she was suffering from classic symptoms of the disease _ breathing difficulties, coughing and high fever _ she was not kept in isolation during her two days of hospitalization or otherwise treated as a suspected bird flu patient, her husband said.
She also was given a traditional Muslim burial, her body washed and shrouded by barehanded family members, before being placed in the ground without a casket, he said.
«I'm terribly scared, I need to know what the test results were,» said Usman, a 44-year-old tailor with three sons. «The government should be intensifying public awareness.
Indonesia, which has tallied more human deaths than any other country, is seen as a potential hot spot for a pandemic because of its high density of people and large number of backyard chickens. The virus remains hard for people to catch, but experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmitted between humans, potentially killing millions across the globe.
The World Health Organization, which has been engaged in a bitter dispute with Indonesia since early 2007 over the sharing of virus samples, said Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari promised to keep it informed about new deaths and did not appear to be violating international health regulations with her new policy.
«Indonesia has agreed to continue notifications to WHO .... they have never said they would not do that,» said David Heymann, the U.N. agency's top flu expert, adding that it does not matter if it takes several weeks to publicize the country's official toll «as long as the virus is known about and handled properly.
Still, the lack of transparency has forced health workers, scientists and residents to rely on word of mouth and raised fears that deaths could be covered up _ especially since the government has been exclusively responsible for carrying out genetic sequencing of H5N1 viruses needed for diagnosis and risk assessment since its standoff with WHO.
Next-of-kin are still shown official test results almost immediately and Usman's case appeared to be an aberration.
But when asked for an explanation, Health Ministry spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati said test results had come back negative and would be delivered to the family within days.
A senior ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the issue has become so politically sensitive, later confirmed the tests were positive.
Four other health workers agreed, some after double-checking with the National Institute for Health Research and Development, the government laboratory that is responsible for confirmations but no longer speaks to the media.
Neighbors too were confused after seeing bird flu investigators visit Usman's house, taking blood samples from family members and handing out the antiflu drug Tamiflu, but only to his youngest son and a child living next door. Residents were asked if they had backyard fowl.
Gusti Ngurah Mahardika, a virologist at Udayana University on Bali island, said the new policy on announcements was a setback. «People will become complacent about bird flu and its threat.
Indonesia's new bird flu policy on reporting deaths leads to confusion, anger
2008-06-13
BITUNG, Indonesia (AP) - Ali Usman's wife died of bird flu 10 days ago, but he still has not been officially notified by the government. Desperate for information, he scours the newspapers, which until last month aggressively wrote about deaths in the country hardest hit by the disease, but finds nothing.
That's because of a new government policy to no longer publicize individual bird flu cases immediately _ an attempt to shift media attention that politicians say focuses too heavily on deaths instead of successes. From now on, fatalities will be announced in clusters, perhaps just a few times a year.
The news blackout worries health experts and has left government officials and people living in areas worst affected by the virus confused and frustrated.
It took The Associated Press a week to track down and confirm the June 3 death of Usman's wife, Susi Lisnawati, which raised the country's toll to 110.
Though she was suffering from classic symptoms of the disease _ breathing difficulties, coughing and high fever _ she was not kept in isolation during her two days of hospitalization or otherwise treated as a suspected bird flu patient, her husband said.
She also was given a traditional Muslim burial, her body washed and shrouded by barehanded family members, before being placed in the ground without a casket, he said.
«I'm terribly scared, I need to know what the test results were,» said Usman, a 44-year-old tailor with three sons. «The government should be intensifying public awareness.
Indonesia, which has tallied more human deaths than any other country, is seen as a potential hot spot for a pandemic because of its high density of people and large number of backyard chickens. The virus remains hard for people to catch, but experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmitted between humans, potentially killing millions across the globe.
The World Health Organization, which has been engaged in a bitter dispute with Indonesia since early 2007 over the sharing of virus samples, said Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari promised to keep it informed about new deaths and did not appear to be violating international health regulations with her new policy.
«Indonesia has agreed to continue notifications to WHO .... they have never said they would not do that,» said David Heymann, the U.N. agency's top flu expert, adding that it does not matter if it takes several weeks to publicize the country's official toll «as long as the virus is known about and handled properly.
Still, the lack of transparency has forced health workers, scientists and residents to rely on word of mouth and raised fears that deaths could be covered up _ especially since the government has been exclusively responsible for carrying out genetic sequencing of H5N1 viruses needed for diagnosis and risk assessment since its standoff with WHO.
Next-of-kin are still shown official test results almost immediately and Usman's case appeared to be an aberration.
But when asked for an explanation, Health Ministry spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati said test results had come back negative and would be delivered to the family within days.
A senior ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the issue has become so politically sensitive, later confirmed the tests were positive.
Four other health workers agreed, some after double-checking with the National Institute for Health Research and Development, the government laboratory that is responsible for confirmations but no longer speaks to the media.
Neighbors too were confused after seeing bird flu investigators visit Usman's house, taking blood samples from family members and handing out the antiflu drug Tamiflu, but only to his youngest son and a child living next door. Residents were asked if they had backyard fowl.
Gusti Ngurah Mahardika, a virologist at Udayana University on Bali island, said the new policy on announcements was a setback. «People will become complacent about bird flu and its threat.
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