TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi says the Indonesian government is prepared to prevent the spread of the H7N9 virus. The minister said the new type of the avian flu virus is more deadly than the H5N1.
"We have coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and the local government," Nafsiah said after opening a World Health Day event on Sunday, April 7. So far, said Nafsiah, there has been no indication of the virus spreading to humans.
The H7N9 bird flu virus has claimed six lives in four provinces in China. Eighteen cases of the H7N9 virus have been identified so far.
To curb the spread of the virus, the provinces of Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu have suspended all trading of live poultry. Health commissions and family planning bodies in those cities have also isolated those infected. Reports say that so far there has been no sign of human-to-human transmission.
SUNDARI