REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesian government raises awareness towards the outbreak of avian influenza virus H7N9 in China by listing all imported products from China.
"No case has been reported in Indonesia yet, but we must take some precautions," Vice Minister of Trade, Bayu Krisnamurthi, said on Monday. According to World Health Organization (WHO), the virus of avian influenza is unlikely to reach Indonesia.
WHO states that the H7N9 found in Shanghai cannot be transmitted among people. Representative of WHO in Beijing, Michael O'Leary, said that scientist had no evidence that the H7N9 avian influenza virus could be transferred from human to human.
The Head of Local Poultry Farmer Association (Himpuli), Ade M Zulkarnaen, urged government to be prepared of bird flu transmission. He said that Indonesia was affected by avian influenza in 2003 and 2008 through bird migration. "I think now is the season of bird migration," he said.
Zulkarnaen said the banning of poultry was not the only effective way to prevent avian influenza entering Indonesia. He suggested government to be aware of bird migration as well as monitor illegal trade route. Himpuli recently found illegal poultry products sold in modern retail.
Director General of Poultry and Animal Health at the Ministry of Agriculture, Syukur Iwantoro, said Indonesia had not been affected by H7N9, but government still concerned over the virus.
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