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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesia 'covered up' bird flu |
| 2005-10-21 |
| INDONESIAN officials "covered up and then neglected" an epidemic of avian influenza in poultry for two years, allowing it to spread among flocks and then to people, the Washington Post has reported. The newspaper quoted an Indonesian microbiologist as saying authorities argued about whether the virus killing chickens was in fact H5N1, and then tried to deal with it quietly. As a result, the virus spread for two years, with little public word until it began infecting people. H5N1 bird flu has killed four people in Indonesia. "If the government had acted sooner to stamp it out, there would be no outbreak. They have wasted so much time," the newspaper quoted Indonesian microbiologist Chairul Nidom as saying. The newspaper also quoted Indonesia's former national director of animal health, Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, as saying chickens began dying from H5N1 in Indonesia in 2003 but the government covered it up because of lobbying from the poultry industry. "They said, 'It's better to do it with confidentiality. Do a hidden, silent operation,"' Mr Naipospos was quoted as saying. |
| Posted by:God Save The World AKA Oztralian |