Australia has expressed strong concern that world health authorities could be unaware of Indonesia's efforts to combat the deadly bird flu virus after the recent decision to cut back on its reporting obligations.
The office of Health Minister Nicola Roxon has confirmed to The Canberra Times that Australian authorities sought clarification of Indonesia's policy on reporting human cases of avian influenza to the World Health Organisation.
This was after Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari announced in June that Indonesian authorities would no longer report individual human cases of bird flu to the WHO and would instead provide six-monthly reports.
Immediate reporting of bird flu or similar influenza cases is considered essential to quickly detect any human-to-human transmission of a virus that could be the beginning of a global pandemic.
To date, human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus has not been detected.
Diplomatic sources said Australia's disquiet about Dr Supari's statement was very clearly conveyed to Indonesian authorities.
A senior Australian health official involved in national pandemic planning said Indonesia's management of bird flu was severely deficient.
"Not much has been said publicly for obvious diplomatic reasons, but [the Indonesians] really can't manage this at all well," the official said.
"Their health authorities are weak, sometimes incompetent. There aren't enough veterinarians and too many backyard chickens. [Health Minister] Supari is off the planet on avian influenza. She really doesn't understand the issue.
"We'll probably learn about human-to-human transmission via a tourist returning to Australia long before the Indonesians report a case to the WHO. One day a pandemic will be upon us and it may well be incubated in the Jakarta slums."
News of the Australian Government's representations in Jakarta came as Australia hosted the World Poultry Congress in Brisbane with more than 2000 international delegates.
Dr Supari's June announcement attracted widespread criticism from international health experts who highlighted the importance of prompt reporting of new infections and warned that Indonesia would be in violation of International Health Regulations.
Nearly half (110) of the 243 human deaths from bird flu worldwide have occurred in Indonesia.
The death rate is much higher in Indonesia, with 110 deaths from 135 cases, compared with other Asian countries.
In Vietnam, 106 cases have led to 52 deaths.
Dr Supari has been at odds with the WHO and other countries about bird flu for more than a year.
She has refused to share Indonesian H5N1 virus samples with other countries, claiming foreign drug companies would use them to create vaccines that Indonesia couldn't afford.
Ms Roxon's office declined to say whether the Australian Government was satisfied with Indonesia's compliance with international health regulations, and noted that WHO assistant director-general for health security Dr David Heymann had said Indonesian authorities had told the WHO they would continue to report avian influenza cases.
Australian bird flu expert, Dr Andrew Turner, said earlier this week the risk bird flu might trigger a global pandemic was small, but health authorities had to be vigilant.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff