UN expert: Indonesia needs better bird flu controls

The Straits Times, March 17, 2007


ROME - DETECTION of bird flu has improved greatly over the last three years, but three countries - Egypt, Nigeria and, especially, Indonesia - still do not have sufficient controls in place, a United Nations expert said.

The chief veterinary officer at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) urged Indonesia to step up surveillance and control systems to prevent a possible pandemic in a country where the virus has already killed 65 people.

'In Indonesia we have the same problem that we had in Thailand, Vietnam and China and others three years ago - a lot of outbreaks, a lot of the virus in the environment, human cases,' Dr Joseph Domenech told Reuters.

'It means a possible occurrence of the virus which could lead to a pandemic.'

In Egypt, where there have been 13 reported human deaths from H5N1, the risk is 'statistically' smaller than Indonesia because the population is smaller, but the problem of human proximity with poultry and a lack of controls means the situation is similar, Dr Domenech said.

Nigeria, which reported its first human bird flu death in January, is considered less of a risk, but also needs to improve its controls, he added.

REUTERS