What next for bird flu in Jakarta?
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20080212.C05&irec=4
More "visitors" have been visiting Jakarta than ever during the last three years.
First and foremost among these visitors are floods and the H5N1 virus, which are both more prevalent during the rainy season.
Hype surrounding the virus, or bird flu as it is more commonly known as, follows the same pattern every year. The media kicks off the frenzy with reports on bird flu cases. It also offers ideas as to how victims may have contracted the virus. The central and local governments then jump on board, offering promises and policies almost identical to what they offered the previous year. Then the wet season ends, cases decrease and the hype dies down.
Responding to the latest cases of bird flu in Jakarta this month, Governor Fauzi Bowo had nothing better to say than echo promises his predecessor Sutiyoso made a year ago.
"We will strengthen restrictions on backyard farming and speed up the relocation of poultry farms from the city," he said.
The new location for these farms was to be the same as last year: Rawa Kepiting in East Jakarta.
Even after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his ministers visited City Hall to discuss the bird flu issue and flood control recently, the first directly elected governor had nothing new to say.
During Fauzi's first 100 days in office, bird flu certainly did not appear to be on the top of his list of priorities.
The draft of this year's city budget includes no special arrangements to tackle bird flu, nor does it mention anything about the poultry industry. Fauzi chose to focus on fighting dengue fever during the first few months of his tenure.
But if you were in Fauzi's position, it is likely you would also find it hard to make bird flu an emergency issue. Bird flu seems trivial compared to other illnesses that have plagued the city for decades, including dengue fever and diarrhea.
In 2006 when 11 cases of bird flu were recorded in the city by the health agency, 24,266 cases of dengue fever were reported with 46 fatalities.
The hype surrounding bird flu is generated more by the central government, which is more tuned in to international panic regarding the illness.
It is, of course, very reasonable to worry about bird flu.
Unlike dengue fever, which can be caused by just three viruses, researchers have proven that the H5N1 virus could easily mutate into more powerful viruses resistant to existing medication.
No researcher has found proper vaccines to prevent bird flu, with evidence suggesting the H5N1 virus is resistant to the medication used to treat it -- oseltamivir.
European public health specialists have also identified that the H5N1 virus is significantly resistant to the drug Tamiflu, which is the world's most widely purchased influenza medicine.
These reports are certainly frightening, but are they enough to get the administration to wake up to the threat bird flu poses?
I certainly doubt it. The recycling of last year's policies regarding bird flu by the current administration strongly backs up this belief.
Fauzi restated his policy regarding bird flu to the media to soothe the troubled minds of members of the public -- and members of the international community -- in light of the fact the number of bird flu victims in Jakarta is rapidly increasing.
It would not be that hard for the administration to battle bird flu. It made a good start last March when it closed down most backyard poultry farms in the city.
The Jakarta Health Agency recorded no new cases of bird flu between April and August 2007. One could argue that the absence of rain was the main reason for this, but compared to 2006 when the city recorded at least one case of bird flu per month, perhaps the policy worked to an extent.
The problem is that Fauzi, just like any other democratically elected leader, reacts according to the impact of problems on the community. And in the case of Jakarta, dengue fever and traffic congestion seem to affect more people than bird flu. Sure, these problems are less deadly, but they have the potential to give the governor a large headache when fingers are pointed at him.
Bird flu and the gauntlet of other existing diseases in the city should be viewed as a sign that the bar should be raised in terms of quality of life.
Of course the administration could work harder to eradicate bird flu from the city, just like administrations in the past eradicated other illnesses. But bird flu would not be the last illness to scare the residents of Jakarta.
Perhaps -- God forbid -- Fauzi will wait until bird flu affects the number of people currently inconvenienced by Jakarta's traffic chaos before he does anything about it.
