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Millions to be mobilized |
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JAKARTA, Mon. --- Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono today said his country was preparing a nationwide bird flu monitoring system that would involve millions of people at village level. “We are currently looking at a concept for preventive steps for the entire archipelago, that is, ‘Village Preparedness’”, Susilo said after talks with health and agriculture ministers. Under the scheme, at least five personnel in each village would monitor any case of bird flu among birds and humans “so that reporting can be done speedily”, the president said. The scheme would also see doctors trained to handle bird flu cases. Indonesia is home to more than 400,000 villages. “We hope that ‘Village Preparedness’ can be implemented within one month. The sooner, the better. We are seriously handling this so that our country can be safe from bird flu”, he said. Indonesia’s Government was accused of covering up initial outbreaks of bird flu and has been repeatedly warned that it must take quick action to stem the spread of the virus. |
Seven fatalities from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza have been confirmed as carrying the virus but have either recovered or are still receiving treatment. Susilo said in order for the scheme to proceed well, the participation of the entire nation was needed “as well as the tenacity of all heads of the regions”. He said in some regions, efforts to prevent the spread of the bird flu had not been serious enough and he warned regional heads to improve their response in the next two to three days or be personally reprimanded by him. Indonesia has obtained permission to produce anti-bird flu vaccines for birds and the Government had appointed the state-run Biopharma to churn them out. Indonesia said on Saturday it would produce 220-million Tamiflu tablets, the drug deemed most effective to respond to a bird flu pandemic. Susilo said two million tablets would still be imported ahead of manufacturing beginning here. Indonesia last weeks pledged a year-long fight against the virus. --- AFP. |
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