Avian Flu In Jakarta Designated As An Extraordinary Incident In Today's Memory, September 19, 2005

Officers took samples of dirt from chickens to find out the possibility of the spread of bird flu. (Between/Nyoman Budhiana)

JAKARTA - Today's memory, 18 years ago, September 19, 2005, Minister of Health (Menkes), Siti Fadilah Supari determined the presence of bird flu in Jakarta as an Extraordinary Event (KLB). The determination was made because the number of bird flu spreads in Jakarta increased.

Previously, the certainty of bird flu entering Indonesia began with the large number of chicken deaths in 2003. Suspicion is increasing because the same cases began to appear in areas outside Java. The government is dizzy.

The narrative of fear once accompanied the entry of bad flu in the Asian region. The H5N1 virus began to spread in Hong Kong in 1997. Even though similar cases were later recorded in Vietnam and South Korea, not many.

Hong Kong kemudian dikenal sebagai negara dengan kasus flu burung terbesar. Pemerintah Hong kong mengambil sikap pada 2001. Mereka kemudian banyak memusnahkan ribuan ungas karena dianggap dapat menularkan flu burung kepada manusia.

Chicken sales and imports were practically stopped. The case then claimed lives and brought fear of seeping throughout Hong Kong. After Hong Kong, the H5N1 virus started infecting various other Asian regions. From Thaliand to South Korea.

In Indonesia, especially. Bird flu is believed to have entered Indonesia in 2003. The H5N1 virus is considered the culprit of the death of millions of poultry in various regions, especially in West Java. The number of cases of bird flu is growing.

The problem about the problem arises because the poultry maintenance pattern is still based on a simple farm. Alias has not yet achieved the maintenance system recommended by the health department. It's different from stories when the livestock is clean, sanitation is good, to routine vaccines.

It may be that the issue of spreading the H5N1 virus will not massively kill millions of poultry. There was also a furore when bird flu began to spread to humans. This incident made the Indonesian government alert.

The transmission of bird flu then shocked Indonesia at the end of June to mid-July 2005. The bird flu claimed three lives at once in a very short time. A father and his second and third daughters, aged eight years and one year each. The 38-year-old father died four days after the departure of his third daughter. One day later, his second daughter followed her father's departure.

At first, the source of the virus was unknown. This proves that bird flu is capable of infecting humans and can attack them viciously, causing death in a very fast time. There is no suspicion that the three people were exposed to bird flu. This is due to symptoms such as the common cold. However, it turns into acute pneumonia followed by other symptoms similar to indications of bird flu infection in humans," wrote Retno D. Soejoedono in the bookFlu Bird (2005).

The danger of bird flu cannot be underestimated. Minister of Health, Siti Fadilah Supari began to take a measurable approach to break the chain of spreading the H5N1 virus. According to him, the virus has spread everywhere.

Jakarta, especially. Many poultry in markets and zoos were suddenly detected contracting the H5N1 virus. The Minister of Health also took the stance that the presence of bird flu in Jakarta as a KLB on September 19, 2005. This policy has closed many poultry farms. Even the Ragunan Zoo was also closed because 18 poultry had contracted the H5N1 virus.

The status of bird flu in Jakarta as a KLB has made the government more aggressive in curbing the spread of the virus. Coordination and technical guidance measures against the outbreak are getting more massive.

Problems arise. The MAPPING of the KLB made the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Sutiyoso furious, not playing. The status of the KLB made the whole of Jakarta panic. This is because the determination of the KLB is synonymous with a very emergency situation. He received various calls from the panicked ambassador. However, Siti Fadilah Supari just considered the wind.

"The KLB is not to scare. But it is the government's job to warn its citizens," said Siti Fadilah Supari before attending a limited meeting at the Presidential Office, the day after the KLB's appointment, as quoted by Detik.com, September 20, 2005.