INDONESIA - JANUARY 19 AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI) UPDATE

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000166 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/IET, MED/DASHO/EMR AND MED DEPT FOR G/AIAG AND OES DEPT PASS TO USDA/FAS/DLP/HWETZEL AND FAS/ROSENBLUM DEPT ALSO PASS TO USDA/FAS/FAA/DEVER AND USDA/APHIS/ANNELLI DEPT ALSO PASS TO USDA/FAS/OTCB/ROSENBLUM AND USDA/AHHIS AUSTGEN DEPT ALSO PASS TO USAID/ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/ABHAT/MSTLOUIS AND HHS/NIH PARIS FOR FAS/AG MINISTER COUNSELOR BANGKOK FOR APHIS/CARDENAS, RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A CANBERRA FOR APHIS/EDWARDS ROME FOR FAO NSC FOR JMELINE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO AMED CASC EAGR AMGT PGOV ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA - JANUARY 19 AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI) UPDATE REF: A) Jakarta 00107 B) Jakarta 00033 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. The Governor of Jakarta signed a regulation on January 17 prohibiting all backyard farming of poultry in residential areas in Jakarta by February 1. However, at a subsequent meeting organized by the National Committee on Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Preparedness (KOMNAS),key stakeholders expressed skepticism about the Jakarta city government's ability to implement the regulation. On January 18, Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari said that the central government would extend the ban on backyard chickens to eight other provinces. The Mission's Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU-2) has confirmed two additional human AI cases since Ref A, one of whom has died, and ruled out H5N1 on forty other suspected cases. Dr. Rodney Hoff from the REDI Center in Singapore visited Jakarta from January 14-17 and discussed the Tangerang Trilateral Project with officials from KOMNAS, the Ministry of Health, and the Singaporean Embassy. End Summary. Jakarta Administration Issues Poultry Ban -------------- ¶2. (U) On January 17, the Jakarta city administration issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 5/200 banning backyard farming of poultry in residential areas in order to curb the spread of avian influenza. The regulation outlines five poultry restrictions: --The Jakarta city government asks residents to voluntarily dispose of fowl before January 31 by properly consuming, selling or slaughtering them. --Beginning on February 1, residents will be prohibited from raising fowl (chickens, ducks, swans, pigeons and quail) in their backyards. --Researchers and owners of pet birds must apply for health certificates from the Jakarta Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Agency if they want to keep birds. --City authorities will relocate all commercial fowl-breeding sites, poultry storage facilities, and slaughterhouses to designated areas, away from residential areas. --The transportation of poultry within Jakarta will be regulated with detailed ordinances in the future. ¶3. (U) Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso urged Jakarta residents to support the policy and noted that the city will develop future regulations on commercial poultry farming. The city's animal husbandry agency estimates that residents in about half of the city's houses keep birds, and that each of the more than 2,600 neighborhoods in the city is home to approximately 1,000 fowl. Media reports have provided conflicting information about whether the Jakarta government will compensate private and commercial poultry owners for birds they cull. Some reports suggest that compensation will be approximately Rp 12,000 (USD 1.30) per fowl. However, authorities have not announced where this funding will come from or how officials will administer the scheme. Stakeholder Meeting on New Decree -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Following the announcement, KOMNAS convened a meeting of key stakeholders, including the World Health Organization, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO),UNICEF, USAID, and World Bank to discuss the announcement and seek assistance with implementation. Bayu Krisnamurthi, KOMNAS Executive Director was positive about Jakarta's policy but acknowledged many questions about implementation and the economic impact on poultry workers. Bayu asked for FAO support in developing an animal health certificate system for birds allowed under the regulation. Bayu also noted that the Governor plans to relocate poultry collection points to approximately four areas on the periphery of Jakarta, including one location in Tangerang but that this plan has not yet been negotiated with the governors of neighboring provinces. ¶5. (SBU) Bayu said he anticipates that infrastructure costs to implement the plan would be financed out of the Jakarta city budget. International organization participants expressed a willingness to help, but echoed KOMNAS' concerns, noting that the movement of large numbers of poultry in the next two weeks could increase the risk of spreading H5N1, and that the decree would prompt people to keep poultry illegally and complicate the implementation of prevention and control programs. Regions Next For Bird Ban -------------- ¶6. (U) On January 18, Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari told the press that the central government plans to extend the ban on backyard poultry in the capital to eight other provinces. Additionally, the government is asking that regional administrations implement a ban on slaughtering chickens outside of slaughtering houses and increase monitoring of poultry traffic. The eight provinces likely to receive the background poultry ban reportedly include Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Lampung, and South Sulawesi. NAMRU-2 Identifies Additional Cases -------------- ¶7. (SBU) NAMRU-2 reports two additional cases of human H5N1 infection since Ref A, both of which were confirmed by the U.S. CDC on January 19. At the same time, NAMRU-2 has ruled out H5N1 virus during tests of more than forty other suspected cases mentioned in various media reports. The two new cases include a 27-year-old female from South Jakarta and an 18-year-old male from Serpong, Tangerang. The 27-year-old female was admitted to the hospital on January 11 and died January 12. The 18-year-old male reported to Persahabatan Hospital in Jakarta on January 11. Although stable, he remains on a ventilator. He is the son of a 37-year-old female who died of H5N1 on January 9 at the same hospital. The father of the 18-year-old male has tested negative for H5N1 infection by RT-PCR but remains a suspected case until he can be ruled out following antibody tests. Authorities believe both individuals had contact with dead poultry. ¶8. (SBU) NAMRU-2 data indicates the following AI-related case profile as of January 19: -- Number of laboratory confirmed (positive PCR and/or serology) human AI cases: 79, of which 61 have been fatal (case fatality rate of 77 percent). -- Number of probable AI cases: 4, of which 2 are fatal (case fatality rate of 50%). -- Number of cases awaiting analysis at the U.S. CDC: 0. -- Number of possible untested AI cases under investigation (last 30 days): 27. Note: NAMRU-2 data corresponds with Ministry of Health (MOH) data but may vary at times with AI case figures presented on the official World Health Organization (WHO) website, which usually lags NAMRU-2 data by one week. The WHO website, last updated on January 15, notes 79 human AI cases in Indonesia with 61 deaths. For WHO figures, log onto their website at www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza. REDI Center Representative Discusses Tangerang Project -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Dr. Rodney Hoff from the Regional Emerging Diseases Investigation Center (REDI) visited Jakarta January 14-17 to meet with GOI officials and others dealing with AI management and preparedness and discuss the Tangerang Trilateral Project. Hoff told us KOMNAS is taking a stronger leadership and coordinating role in the Tangerang project, but lacks the capacity to implement projects on the ground. Dr. Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, Secretary to KOMNAS, proposes to set up a team consisting of officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, and Tangerang District and Municipal authorities to draft a Tangerang project operational plan for stakeholders' review at a workshop in late February. The GOI has still not identified a project director nor finalized its MOU with Singapore. PASCOE