Ground Zero for Bird Flu: Indonesia is losing it's grip...

[PureCajunSunshine]

Indonesia's poultry population is boiling with Bird Flu, and is out of control...Here's the latest news on that.

 

Of course, help from the global community seems to be lacking...too bad, too bad for us all.

 

 

 

 

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says bird flu may mutate to human form in Indonesia.

 

 

MILAN (Reuters) - The bird flu virus, widespread in Indonesia, could mutate and cause a human influenza pandemic, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday.

 

 

< snipped verbiage >

 

 

"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," Domenech said.

 

Bird flu has hit 31 out of 33 provinces of Indonesia with an endemic virus in Java, Sumatra, Bali and southern Sulawesi and sporadic outbreaks reported in other areas, Rome-based FAO said.

 

Despite major control efforts, Indonesia has failed to contain the spread of bird flu in poultry in the country where about 20 percent of 1.4 billion chickens are scattered in around 30 million backyards, Domenech said.

 

"We have also observed that new H5N1 avian influenza virus strains have recently emerged, creating the possibility that vaccines currently in use may not be fully protecting poultry against the disease," he said.

 

A highly decentralized administration, under-resourced national veterinary services, thin international and national financial and human resources for control campaigns are among the major problems that Indonesia has to deal with in fighting the virus spread, he said.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080318/hl_nm/bird_flu_dc_1

 

[Mother]

This is exactly what I feared would happen. With India coming a second in the race against time it looks like it won't take it long before it mutates that one last jump. I'm really sorry to hear this. I was hoping that it would be contained better than this.

 

PCS, I'm really glad to see you back. Missed you.

 

:bighhug:

[PureCajunSunshine]

aww, thanks! I missed all ya'll too