The government imposed "extraordinary" measures yesterday to keep a bird flu outbreak that has killed four people in Indonesia from spreading, including the forced hospitalization of people who exhibit symptoms of the disease.
In addition to the fatalities, six patients suspected of having the H5N1 strain of bird flu have been admitted to Jakarta's infectious diseases hospital, officials said, two of them zoo employees. Blood samples from the patients have been sent to Hong Kong for testing.
Health Minister Siti Fadila said the government was "very concerned" about the spread of bird flu and had assigned 44 state-owned hospitals to treat avian influenza patients, who will receive free medication.
PHOTO: AP
Those with symptoms of the disease could be admitted by force, she said, adding that the "extraordinary" status would last 21 days but could be renewed if necessary.
Meanwhile, zoos across the sprawling archipelago were taking measures to protect their animals after 19 eagles, peacocks and other birds tested positive for the virus at the popular Ragunan Zoo in south Jakarta, forcing its closure for three weeks.
Two of the zoo's employees were hospitalized yesterday with symptoms of the disease -- a 28-year-old guide and a 39-year-old vendor, I Nyoman Kandun, director general of Communicable Disease Control, said.
Zoos elsewhere in Indonesia were testing birds for the virus, while others sprayed disinfectant in bird cages and stopped accepting new animals.
"With such measures, we believe the park is safe," said Asep Firmansyah, a spokesman for Taman Safari Indonesia just outside the capital.
"However, we will welcome health officials testing the birds at this park," he said.
The virus has swept through poultry populations in large swaths of Asia since 2003, killing 63 people and resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of birds.
A Cabinet meeting was to be held later yesterday to discuss what measures Indonesia should take to fight the disease, after the government reiterated on Monday that it lacks necessary funds to undertake mass culling of birds in areas where outbreaks occur.
Most human cases of bird flu have been linked to sick birds. But the World Health Organization has warned that the virus could mutate into a form that can be easily transmitted between humans, possibly triggering a global pandemic that could kill millions.
DISASTER: The Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded a magnitude 5.7 and tremors reached as far as Kolkata, India, more than 300km away from the epicenter A powerful earthquake struck Bangladesh yesterday outside the crowded capital, Dhaka, killing at least five people and injuring about a hundred, the government said. The magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 10:38am near Narsingdi, Bangladesh, about 33km from Dhaka, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake sparked fear and chaos with many in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people at home on their day off. AFP reporters in Dhaka said they saw people weeping in the streets while others appeared shocked. Bangladesh Interim Leader Muhammad Yunus expressed his “deep shock and sorrow over the news of casualties in various districts.” At least five people,
It is one of the world’s most famous unsolved codes whose answer could sell for a fortune — but two US friends say they have already found the secret hidden by Kryptos. The S-shaped copper sculpture has baffled cryptography enthusiasts since its 1990 installation on the grounds of the CIA headquarters in Virginia, with three of its four messages deciphered so far. Yet K4, the final passage, has kept codebreakers scratching their heads. Sculptor Jim Sanborn, 80, has been so overwhelmed by guesses that he started charging US$50 for each response. Sanborn in August announced he would auction the 97-character solution to K4
ON THE LAM: The Brazilian Supreme Court said that the former president tried to burn his ankle monitor off as part of an attempt to orchestrate his escape from Brazil Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro — under house arrest while he appeals a conviction for a foiled coup attempt — was taken into custody on Saturday after the Brazilian Supreme Court deemed him a high flight risk. The court said the far-right firebrand — who was sentenced to 27 years in prison over a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 elections — had attempted to disable his ankle monitor to flee. Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes said Bolsonaro’s detention was a preventive measure as final appeals play out. In a video made
SHOW OF FORCE: The US has held nine multilateral drills near Guam in the past four months, which Australia said was important to deter coercion in the region Five Chinese research vessels, including ships used for space and missile tracking and underwater mapping, were active in the northwest Pacific last month, as the US stepped up military exercises, data compiled by a Guam-based group shows. Rapid militarization in the northern Pacific gets insufficient attention, the Pacific Center for Island Security said, adding that it makes island populations a potential target in any great-power conflict. “If you look at the number of US and bilateral and multilateral exercises, there is a lot of activity,” Leland Bettis, the director of the group that seeks to flag regional security risks, said in an
RSS