One Health Is Advised To Get Responses To Human Death Due To Bird Flu

Bird Flu (Between)

JAKARTA - The One Health Concept (One Health) is advised to apply it in real terms to respond to the case of the first human death due to the Bird Flu (H5N2) disease.

"In connection with the vigilance conveyed by WHO regarding the death of the first case due to the Bird Flu disease, we need to know that bird flu is one of the infectious diseases that has the potential to cause an outbreak, and it is not even impossible to spread between countries," said Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FKUI) Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama quoting Antara.

He encouraged Indonesia to realize the implementation of the One Health concept in real health services in the field, not only in the form of policy guidelines.

"One Health is a joint work of human health, animal health, and environmental health," he said.

In addition, said Tjandra, the One Health approach also needs to be strengthened by field surveillance in all corners of Indonesia to detect possible variants of the Bird Flu.

Reporting from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Bird Flu type is divided into three based on the protein in the leadership of the virus, namely Hemagglutin (HA) which has 16 subtypes (H1 to H16), Neuraminidase (NA) has nine subtypes (N1 to N9), and the combination of HA and NA such as H5N1, H5N2, and H7N2.

The response to Avian Flu also requires active participation in the global health community to monitor and control the disease.

He said there are at least three factors that cause the world to always be vigilant about Avian Flu with its various types.

"First, because it initially occurred in poultry and poultry on the one hand, it was close to humans, even around the house. On the other hand, it is possible that there could be migration of birds between countries while at the same time carrying transmission and spread of disease," he said.

Tjandra, who is also a former Director of Infectious Diseases of WHO Southeast Asia, said that Avian Flu can be transmitted to humans as has happened several times in the world and in Indonesia.

"If you have been infected with humans, then the case can become severe and even death, the gradation depends on the type of bird flu that infects you," he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday (5/6) announced that a Mexican resident was the first person in the world to die from a previously undetected bird flu in humans.

The H5N2 strain of Bird Flu has been recorded to have attacked poultry worldwide. The 59-year-old, a resident of the central state of Mexico, is said to have fallen ill since April 2024.