W

ith the heaviest rainfall expected to occur in January and early February this year, the rainy season may heighten risks of more disease outbreaks in Indonesia, but the seasonal impact on bird flu is unclear, according to an official at the Health Ministry.

The public needs to be warned of diseases like influenza and diarrhea caused by viruses, dysentery and leptospirosis caused by bacteria and parasites from septic tanks, animal waste and contaminated water and noncontagious diseases like asthma and rhinitis, said Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the director general of Disease Control and Environmental Health at the Health Ministry in a ministry’s report.

The report emphasized the importance of water usage, advising people to frequently wash hands with soap and clean water, use sanitized toilets, remove larvae in homes, school and offices, throw daily garbage in designated places, refrain from spitting and use personal protective equipment like rain boots and repellents to avoid leptospirosis and dengue fever infections.

According to the report, the ministry will increase disease surveillance, and support local health departments to improve methods in monitoring environmental risk factors like water sanitation, environmental hygiene and mosquito control, especially in flood and flood-prone areas. If needed, water purifies will be provided to areas difficult to get clean water.

Tjandra denied that hot and rainy weather had a direct impact on bird flu transmissions.

He said: “Common flu cases are definitely on the rise, but for bird flu, there were only 11 cases last year, and given the small number, it’s not clear whether there is a significant link between bird flu and humid weather.”

Ngurah Mahardika, a flu specialist at Udayana University, was quoted by The Jakarta Post in November as saying that bird-to-human transmission of the disease was more likely during wet weather, because viruses survive longer in high humidity.

The comment was made in response to fatalities caused by H5N1 virus in Bali two months ago.

Tjandra confirmed that there had been no human-to-human transmission of H5N1 viruses in Indonesia up until now, but that the possibility of an outbreak still existed.

He said, “Since a few years ago when we had more than 100 cases of death from bird flu, the pandemic has been decreasing over the years, but there is still potential [for an outbreak].”

He suggested that people avoid contact with poultry and report suspicious symptoms to the health authority as soon as they appeared.

In December, an official at the Health Ministry said that the number of bird flu infections had declined over the past few years.

However, Indonesia remains the virus’ “hot spot”, as backyard poultry farms remain the backbone in supplying meat for the population.

Rita Kusriastuti, director of animal-borne infectious disease control at the Health Ministry, said low figures in bird flu infections did not necessarily mean the worst was over, as chickens kept by residents in backyard farms had the potential to transmit the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1).

“It’s not surprising that up until now we have had to stay alert to bird flu,” she added.