Indonesia to Produce Bird Flu Vaccine
Monday, 14 April, 2008 | 16:38 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Health minister, Siti Fadillah Supari, is certain Indonesia will produce bird flu vaccine

“We can produce it ourselves,” he said in a world health event in Senayan, Jakarta, yesterday. “I do not need to report to you. Later if it is already done, then I will tell you more.”

In the past two months, she said, there have not been many bird flu cases. She mentioned that there is only one case found in a month. “It is reduced. One month one case, two months two cases,” she said.

Compared to 2007, ten cases could be found in only two months. Siti said that it was due to the slow response of regional governments toward the central government's effort in overcoming bird flu cases. It has been reported 107 died of 132 bird flu cases in Indonesia.

Siti said that the mosquito has been a primary disease carrier in this global climate change. People should protect the water source and economize in using water.

“In this climate change situation, the mosquito brings more disease,” she said. Most of the diseases carried by the mosquito are dengue fever, malaria, and chikungunya.

Due to global warming, the Director General for Disease Control and Environmental Sanitation, I Nyoman Kandun, said that the incubation cycle for the dengue virus in the Aedes Aegypti mosquito is shorter. Hence, dengue cases are easily increased compared to previous years. Global warming also increases the temperature of 0.5 – 1 Celsius degree.

Cheta Nilawaty