Avian Influenza I

In The World...

In Birds - H5N1 virus or mostly known as avian influenza virus has killed birds in more than 30 countries in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. It has spread to 14 new countries int the past month.

In Human - As of April 6, 2006 WHO has confirmed 191 cases with 108 deaths arround the world with mortality rate about 56 %. Recently China, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Indonesia have more preminent cases among other countries. However, for the last few months, new human cases have been found in some new countries such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Some Asian countries such Thailand and Vietnam has been successfully controlled the AI cases. Scientist fear the virus could mutate and spread easily from person to person, triggering a pandemic that could kill millions people and cripple economies.

In indonesia the highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has affected birds in about two-thirds of Indonesia's provinces. The government has resisted the mass culling of fowl seen int some other nations, citing the expense and the impracticality in a country where they keeping of chickens or ducks in backyards of home is common in cities and on farm. Agencies have concentrated instead on selective culling, and on public education and hygiene measures aimed at prevention.

A sweaping door to door campaign to try to control the disease in the capital Jakarta, the country's biggest city which along with suburbs has about 12 million people, only got under way at the end of February. Stamping out the viruses is a huge, if not impossible, task in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of about 17.000 islands and 220 million people. The virus is now considered endemic in the region's poultry.