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Bird flu drill gives residents golden lesson
There's no such thing as "bird flu" in Dangin Tukad Daya village in Jembrana, about two hours' drive west of Denpasar
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There's no such thing as "bird flu" in Dangin Tukad Daya village in Jembrana, about two hours' drive west of Denpasar. The avian influenza has become Flu Yang Mematikan (deadly influenza), the words splashed across banners of various sizes placed at eye-catching spots throughout the village.
The banners seem to give a hint of what's in store.
On Friday, some residents complained of severe respiratory problems and other cold symptoms. A laboratory check confirmed they had avian influenza caused by H5N1 -- originally a poultry disease.
When one villager reported his chickens had died, officials from the local animal husbandry agency came to examine the carcasses: bird flu was confirmed. The officials took the standard procedure of culling all chickens in a 1 kilometer radius from the infected backyard farm.
In the afternoon, Jembrana Regent I Gede Winasa publicly announced an extraordinary situation after receiving reports from virology and epidemiology tests on the incidents.
By Saturday, 20 villagers had caught the influenza and were rushed to nearby hospitals. Many others were given antiviral prophylaxes to prevent widespread illness.
Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari declared the village an avian influenza epicenter, which meant get-tough measures were required, such as quarantining the infected residents and shutting off access to and from the village. The school was closed and the students were sent home. Local administration officials distributed supplies for the quarantined families.
This might have been reality, but for one thing: a wailing siren on a car and an official's repeated announcements through a microphone of what to do during a pandemic: Stay calm, seek information from reliable sources, keep the environment clean and "remember what is happening today is just a simulation. It's just a simulation".
Everything went as planned in the scenario with residents showing a degree of candor and the necessary spontaneity to play their roles.
The village is hosting a three-day bird flu pandemic drill, which started Friday. About 1,000 people were involved in the drill, which was funded by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Said to be the world's first-ever massive pandemic simulation, the drill was designed to try out the recently authored National Pandemic Preparedness.
The World Health Organization's representative in Indonesia, Subhash Salunke, said after Friday's opening ceremony the simulation is a very positive step taken by Indonesian government.
"It's a learning process for all and this simulation will contribute a lot to the global community," Subhash said.
Since reporting its first human case of bird flu infection in 2005, Indonesia has led the world's human bird flu death toll with a staggering 107 deaths. Two of the fatalities were in Bali.
One of the victims was a resident of Dangin Tukad Daya, while the other was from Tabanan. The drill, therefore, was warmly welcomed by the administration and most of residents.
Putu Arini -- who played a wife whose husband became the first patient reported to a community health clinic -- said she was glad she was involved in the drill.
"It (the simulation) will surely be useful. I learned about bird flu after a villager died of bird flu last year. We were told then not to keep free-range chickens. I haven't had any chickens since then.
"It sounds ridiculous to say people get sick from chickens, but it's possible. The subdistrict officials told us in detail how it could happen. I hope it's not going to happen here," said the mother of one.
Nyoman Mardi, who played an infected resident in the drill, said he believed it was necessary for him to monitor his environment and take the threat of bird flu seriously.
"We were told not to keep chickens in our backyard after a villager died (from bird flu) last year. But most people went back to their old ways in a few months after nothing happened," said the vendor.
Fifty-six-year-old Wayan Suwarni said the villagers started to learn simple preventive measures such as washing their hands and keeping their chickens in coops.
"I still keep chickens but I know it's a must to wash my hands after touching them. My chickens are not kept in a coop but I won't touch them if they look sick or they're dead," she said.
