Letters: The flu pandemic

This is a response to an article titled "Travel bans not yet decided over flu pandemic," the post, June 13)

A travel ban would be a very silly response for the following reasons:

First, virtually all countries are affected by H1N1 - including all countries to which there are commercial flights to and from Indonesia. Travel would be impossible.

Second, if you ban travel to certain countries then travelers can simply transit to/from those destinations via countries not on the banned list.

Third, there is no historical evidence that such a policy has ever been successful anywhere in the world.

Fourth, enforcing a travel ban takes up human and financial resources that would be better spent on detecting and treating the disease.

Fifth, we do not yet have unmanned cargo ships or pilotless aircraft. Imports and exports would be impossible without human arrivals and departures at the nation's ports.

The very idea of a travel ban smacks of our health minister and her incurable xenophobia. Indonesians are at far greater risk from avian flu and dengue fever yet her ministry makes half-hearted efforts to eradicate those diseases while spreading paranoia about H1N1.

David
Jakarta