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Indonesia stages giant bird flu drill

Police officers stand guard behind barbed wire on the second day of a bird flu handling exercise in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday. PHOTO: EPA

“Let us out! We don’t want to die here!” a man screamed as masked police officers set up barricades around his village after learning the deadly bird flu virus had mutated to a form spreading rapidly among humans. Dozens of other panicked residents joined him in squaring off with the troops.

Fortunately, it was only a drill.

But for the 5,000 people taking part, the massive three-day simulation on Bali island had special resonance. Government officials, police, hospital workers and residents all know a bird flu pandemic could be looming, with Indonesia at the epicenter.

In the mock scenario, the first sign of trouble in Dangin Tukadaya village came on Friday when a man reported he was still suffering from flu-like symptoms five days after coming into contact with a dead chicken. Tests revealed that poultry in his neighborhood had been infected with the H5N1 virus, and an animal husbandry official ordered all fowl within a 1km radius slaughtered.

By Saturday, 20 men and women had been rushed to a nearby hospital with high fever and respiratory problems and Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari declared the village a bird flu epicenter. One person died.

Authorities moved in quickly, shutting schools and businesses and quarantining many residents in their homes. More than 200 soldiers and police set up barricades around the village of nearly 400 families, mostly rice farmers, cattle breeders and fishermen.

“I hope this will never happen for real,” said Wayan Nerken, 56, after receiving a box of staple food distributed by police making door-to-door rounds to residents under lockdown. “It’s as terrifying as it is deadly.”

On Sunday, the exercise extended to the international airport, as officials tried to prevent “infected” travelers from spreading the virus beyond Indonesia’s borders. Police stopped and checked every car, resulting in a long line of confused motorists, especially departing foreigners.

Drivers and passengers were asked if they had passed through the infected village of Dangin Tukadaya. Health workers dressed in white spacesuit-like uniforms disinfected the cars of those who answered “yes” and people reporting flu-like symptoms were rushed to the airport’s quarantine section.

“I was surprised,” 34-year-old Australian Kelly Plant said after passing through all the checkpoints as she prepared to fly to Perth. “I didn’t know there was a simulation.”

Most people played along but, as in real life, not all, providing a further test to officials.

Travelers inside the airport were asked to fill out health-check cards and to answer questions about places they had visited on Bali, more famous for its white sand beaches than for bird flu. Then they had to walk through thermal scanners.

“This is a waste of time!” one man, another role player, shouted as policemen tried to persuade him to cooperate. “I’m about to miss my flight!”

Most were happy, however, to see that Indonesia was taking the threat of a pandemic seriously.

The country has tallied 107 human deaths, nearly half the recorded fatalities worldwide, and the government has been sharply criticized for not working fast or hard enough to stamp out the virus in poultry stocks.
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