Marthen Malelo is a lonely man these days.
The prominent veterinarian made national headlines three years ago by being the first Indonesian researcher to discover bird flu within the country's poultry population.
But with the H5N1 avian influenza virus now infecting and killing humans, including a 43rd death on Monday that made Indonesia the world's worst-affected country, Malelo's phone does not ring much.
"No one has ever asked me to give suggestions to prevent outbreaks," he said in an exclusive interview. "I just stay at home at night."
That might be because the Indonesian government, already stung by criticism of its less-than-stellar efforts at combating bird flu, does not want to hear any more, although Malelo readily gives his two cents worth.
"They don't have enough money and the coordination does not work -- who does what where -- in the control of bird flu in the field," said Malelo, who works at the state-owned Bogor Institute of Agriculture.
"There must be good coordination among the health department, agriculture department and local health offices," he said, adding that presently "there's not enough."
Indonesia prides itself on being the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, but it has nothing to celebrate in passing Vietnam with the most deaths from H5N1.
A 16-year-old boy who had tested positive for bird flu died Monday night in a Jakarta hospital, making him the country's 43rd victim.
Vietnam is second with 42, but has had no deaths this year while Indonesia has had 32.
The continuation of almost weekly victims may lessen the psychological impact of Indonesia's record-breaking death toll, but health experts concede that it will go higher.
"Indonesia is the world's fourth largest country and four times larger than Vietnam, so it's hard to say it represents anything," said Georg Petersen, Indonesia country representative of the WHO.
"As we have said and the Ministry of Health has said, there's still the outbreak among birds in Indonesia," Petersen said. "And as long as there's an outbreak in birds, there may be infections in humans."
More infections, not to mention deaths, are inevitable. Bird flu is endemic in 27 of Indonesia's 33 provinces with millions of chickens and ducks infected.
The Jakarta Post reported Tuesday that bird flu had also spread to the remote eastern province of Papua with around 174 chickens dead and 414 others culled due to suspected infections.
The controversy over culling was one reason the virus was able to blaze across the vast Indonesian archipelago in the first place. The Jakarta government was reluctant to cull chickens, likely because they did not want to compensate commercial chicken farmers for destroying their own livestock.
But the problem is more complex. There are millions of chickens in the backyards of village homes across the country, and trying to organize them for culls or even a vaccination program is difficult if not impossible.
Despite the continuing cases among both birds and humans, the government's nationwide education, prevention and containment program is making progress, according to the WHO.
But Malelo said the Jakarta government has failed to heed advice from experts in Hong Kong who eradicated bird flu through improved hygiene and mandatory segregation of birds in traditional livestock markets that may carry various forms of the virus.
"A major infection source [for humans] is the markets," he said. "But the government for some reason cannot apply the concept here."
Bird flu in Indonesia first grabbed the world's attention in May when seven members of a single family died of the virus -- the largest recorded cluster to date.
The WHO concluded that limited human-to-human transmission likely occurred, but the virus did not spread beyond blood family members.
Despite Indonesia's woes, there is no evidence suggesting a widely feared -- and hyped -- human-to-human pandemic that could kill millions of people will originate here.
"No one is saying a pandemic could be in one country over another -- no one knows for sure," Petersen said. "It's a worldwide phenomenon, almost. Where a pandemic will start is anyone's guess."
That might give Indonesia some comfort as it stands alone atop the current fatality list.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.