Aussies chip in to help Indonesia fight bird flu

In an effort to help Indonesia fight bird flu the Australian Government has signed an agreement with Indonesia to the tune of $10 million dollars.

The money will help Indonesia set up a compensation scheme for poultry farmers hit by avian flu.

Experts believe a reluctance to cull affected poultry in rural areas is one of the factors which has hampered efforts to control the spread of the virus in Indonesia.

The lack of effective measures is considered to be a serious issue when it comes to regional efforts to prevent a pandemic.

Australia's Health Minister Tony Abbott held talks in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart. The talks come as the World Health Organisation says the virus is believed to have mutated and there are now at least two sub-types.

The WHO says the more sub-types there are the greater the possibility for a strain to evolve which is easily transmissible from human to human and heightens the risk of a pandemic.

According to the WHO controlling avian flu in poultry and other bird populations is a critical issue in preventing a pandemic.

Vietnam and Thailand both implemented effective surveillance and control measures, and neither country has had a significant outbreak among birds or any human case since last November, while at present Indonesia has little in the way of effective controls.

Indonesia is of grave concern because of the size of the population and the way that population is distributed across scores of islands and poor rural areas.

The largest cluster of bird flu infections occurred in Sumatra where eight members of one family recently were infected with the virus and five died.

Mr. Abbott says while Indonesian farmers lack an effective compensation system for bird flu an effective reporting system is difficult to maintain.

Indonesia's budget for controlling avian flu is very small and the compensation offered to farmers whose flocks are culled to control outbreaks, does not equate with the market value for the birds.

This results in very limited and selective poultry culls which are not enough to safely contain flu outbreaks.

The Indonesians have asked for foreign aid to support the compensation scheme, but to date have only received funding tied to vaccines, anti-viral drugs and medical equipment.