Indonesia On Alert After Man Dies Of Suspected Bird Flu

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- Indonesia has stepped up preventive and control measures against bird flu following the death of a 23-year-old man of suspected H5N1 virus infection in northern Jakarta on Saturday. Deputy Health Minister Ali Gufron Mukti said Tuesday the government was handling the measures more professionally to prevent any spread of the disease. The measures also included having designated hospitals to handle such cases in the future, he said. Mukti could only say that he would provide verification later when asked to confirm whether an outbreak of the disease had occurred in northern Jakarta. It is learnt that the man who died had bred pigeons in the vicinity of his home. Agriculture Minister Suswono said Indonesia was not completely free of bird flu. "Most importantly, we hope that the people will not hesitate to immediately report any death of chickens, and should any of the people fall ill," he said. Suswono has ordered relevant agencies under the ministry to monitor cases suspected to be bird flu. Meanwhile, the local media reported that the health division of the Jakarta local authorities conducted an operation Tuesday to examine sick birds in eastern Jakarta besides enforcing the restriction on breeding of birds within 25 metres of residential areas. In the operation, several birds bred in the restricted areas were culled. -- BERNAMA