Adianto P. Simamora and Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 08/04/2009 1:15 PM
Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari played down Monday the threat of the H1N1 virus, which has now infected about 650 people nationwide, saying it was "no different from an ordinary flu" because of its very low mortality rate.
She also claimed around 90 percent of Indonesians understood how to avoid the H1N1 virus.
"Of some 650 victims, only one is confirmed to have died of H1N1. Another one is still unconfirmed because test results that were initially positive turned negative," she told reporters at the House of Representative after the government submitted the 2010 state budget bill.
The minister made the statement just hours after a 2-year-old boy, Rifka, who was believed to have been infected with H1N1, died at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.
"Rifka had been treated at the ICU for children," he said, as quoted by Antara.
Rifka is the fourth Indonesian believed to have died from complications arising from the flu. The first victim to succumb to new virus was a 6-year-old girl who died about two weeks ago.
The director general of disease control and environmental health at the ministry, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said the girl had also been suffering from pneumonia.
The second Indonesian victim was a 28-year-old woman who died in Saudi Arabia last Thursday.
The third was a 24-year-old woman who died on Sunday after being treated at Persahabatan Hospital in Jakarta.
Experts have said that the H1N1 virus spreads quickly, through direct human-to-human contact.
Meanwhile, a health expert at the University of Indonesia, Ascobat Gani, said that the government needed to explain to the public the real condition of the H1N1 virus.
"There is no need for the government to withhold information from the public. Just tell people the way it is and let them make their own decision," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He warned that despite the low mortality rate, the new diseases would cause huge economic loss in the country if no action was taken.
"The mortality rate of H1N1 is far lower than it is for bird flu, but economic losses from the H1N1 pandemic could be much bigger," he said.
"Many people are now afraid of going to work and some schools have been closed to prevent the spread of the virus. This must be calculated as economic losses of the disease."
He also warned of the possibility of H1N1 merging with the much more lethal bird flu.
"If this happens, it would be a massive killer for the world," he said.
Ascobat, who is a professor of health policy analysis, said that people could take action themselves to prevent the spread of H1N1.
"Just use masks and wash your hands. People with high fever should avoid traveling or working, to prevent the virus from spreading," he said.
The H1N1 virus continues to spread across the world, as the global death toll surpasses the 700 mark.
Malaysia reported Monday that two children in the country infected with H1N1 have died, bringing the country's death toll to six, as Hong Kong reported its third H1N1-related death.
