Indonesia: Petri dish for bird flu

Indonesia is grappling with bird flu and there have been culls of chickens in various parts of the country over the last month. One interesting case involves a family in north Sumatra. The family lived in very close proximity to each other and 6 family members have died since May 4th.

Medical experts around the world fear the H5N1 avian flue virus, will mutate, and be able to spread from human to human. In a very mixed message, the WHO (World Health Organization) said “All confirmed cases in the cluster can be directly linked to close and prolonged exposure to a patient during a phase of severe illness.” in reference to the Sumatran family. The WHO followed that up by saying there was “no evidence of efficient human-to-human transmission” in the Kubu Sembelang village instance. With that level of understanding we’re all doomed I reckon.

Malaysia is taking no chances with Indonesian chickens.