With the death of another person, the 42nd due to the human bird flu virus, Indonesia has recorded more deaths this year than any other nation due to this disease. This has brought it on a par with Vietnam as the worst affected by the disease, though the latter has not recorded any deaths this year.



While the outbreak seems to be under control in Vietnam due to a large culling and vaccination drive undertaken by the government, The Indonesian government, on the other hand, has been criticized for its reluctance to cull fowl in the affected areas. This according to experts is the only way to control spread of the disease.



However, the government defends itself by saying that it does not have the money to compensate farmers and has sought $900 mn over the next three years to tackle the virus.



Indonesia’s problem was highlighted this May when it recorded a large number of deaths which the World Health Organization believes were the result of human-to human transmission.



Experts are of the view that this particular incident does not signal a major change in the spread of the disease. However, they fear that the bird flu virus could mutate to a form, which could be passed from human to human triggering a pandemic, and potentially put millions of lives at risk.



More than 130 people have died of bird flu the world over since late 2003. Most of the deaths have been in East Asia but the virus has spread to Europe, Africa and South Central Asia also.



Indonesia’s monetary constraints make it incumbent for the world community to help it in its hour of crisis. This becomes all the more urgent because not only has the virus spread to many parts of the world but also because experts fear it could mutate to a form where it could spread from human- to- human. One hopes it does not happen but if it does millions of precious lives would be lost before the outbreak could be contained.



Via: BBC