VZCZCXRO1735
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0398/01 0650905
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 060905Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1764
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
INFO RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJB/DOJ WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS COLL
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 7873

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000398 
 
SIPDIS 
UNCLASSIFIED 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/AIAG, L/DL, EAP/EX, AND OES/IHA 
USAID FOR ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL 
DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/MSTLOUIS AND HHS/NIH 
DEPT ALSO PASS TO DOJ for OFL 
GENEVA FOR WHO/HOHMAN 
USDA/FAS/OSTA BRANT, ROSENBLUM 
USDA/APHIS ANNELLI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO EAGR AMGT PGOV ID KLIG
SUBJECT: INDONESIA - MARCH 6 AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. On March 3, Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of the 
National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic 
Preparedness (KOMNAS) announced that Indonesia has had four cases of 
bird flu since the beginning of 2009.  However, Ministry of Health 
(MOH)officials have not provided permission for the World Health 
Organization (WHO) to post the results.  Although the WHO Jakarta 
office was aware of these cases, officials revealed that Indonesia 
has not been reporting positive confirmed AI cases within 24 hours 
as required by International Health Regulations (IHR) nor publicly 
announcing cases each month.  WHO plans to meet with the Ministry of 
Health over the next ten days to press for IHR compliance.   WHO 
noted that a misunderstanding between the World Health Organization 
(WHO) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) on AI case confirmation has 
been resolved and may speed up reporting.  The U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA 
APHIS) continues to support biosecurity training in the commercial 
poultry sector.  The Ministry of Agriculture's (MOA) Participatory 
Disease Surveillance and Control monthly reports show that data 
tracks with the up-tick in human AI infections common for this time 
of year. End Summary. 
 
------------------------------ 
Human Cases and IHR Compliance 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 3, Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of the National 
Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Preparedness 
(KOMNAS) announced that Indonesia has had four cases of bird flu 
since the beginning of 2009.   Although the data is limited, WHO 
states that under normal circumstances for the rainy season, it 
expects to see between six to eight cases in the month of January. 
Since the beginning of the year, the Directorate General of 
Communicable Disease and Environmental Health (DGCDEH) reported four 
positive cases of H5N1 to WHO. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The reporting of cases to WHO was strained in February when 
the Minister of Health stated that the Government of Indonesia would 
not confirm H5N1 cases unless the neuraminidase (N1) was laboratory 
confirmed.  Since the National Institute of Health Research and 
Development only tests for the hemagglutinin (H5), DGCDEH could not 
report the cases to WHO. In late February, WHO provided the Director 
General of DGCDEH with documentation stating that for International 
Health Regulations (IHR) compliance, WHO requires reporting of 
confirmed hemagglutinin (H5) -- regardless of the neuraminidase 
confirmation.  Dr. Endang, the Chief AI scientist at NIHRD told WHO 
that reporting should be back to "normal" now that the neuraminidase 
issue was clarified.   WHO officials also noted that although the 
MOH had committed to reporting positive cases to WHO within 24 hours 
and posting results monthly, MOH is now missing these deadlines. 
WHO plans to discuss this with MOH officials over the next two weeks 
and press for adherence to IHR requirements. 
 
------------------------ 
Animal Health Activities 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) USDA APHIS is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and 
the poultry industry on biosecurity.  They supported two training 
workshops on Biosecurity Assessments in January: one with 40 members 
of the Poultry Breeder's association on January 20-23, and one with 
20 government animal health inspectors on January 27-29.  APHIS also 
sponsored a Regional workshop on Funding Mechanisms for Outbreak 
Containment and Compensation for 50 government and poultry industry 
participants from Indonesia and another 50 from ASEAN countries on 
February 24-25 in Jakarta. 
 
------------------------------ 
Status of Poultry AI Outbreaks 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) The MOA's Participatory Disease Surveillance and Control 
Monthly Reports document the AI outbreak status of villages in the 
331 (out of 444) districts covered by the Participatory Disease 
Surveillance and Response (PDSR) program. For the four month period 
from October 2008 through January 2009 the MOA reports village 
infection rates of 2.1%, 2.3%, 5.3%, and 8.5%, respectively. The 
increased infection rates in December and January track with the 
 
JAKARTA 00000398  002 OF 002 
 
 
beginning of Indonesia's rainy season and mirror similar trends 
during the past three rainy seasons. Since May 2008, PDSR animal 
health officers have visited 14,086 villages (29.4% of the villages 
in the 331 districts). Over the past six months, the MOA reports 
implementing voluntary focal culling in 22.7% of infected villages. 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Although Indonesia is experiencing a seasonal upsurge in 
poultry outbreaks, MOA data indicates gradually decreasing poultry 
AI detection rates from 2006 to the present, even with increasing 
surveillance visits.  The data further indicates decreasing 
geographic spread of AI, with no outbreaks in Kalimantan in well 
over a year, and greatly reduced outbreaks in East Java since 
mid-2007.  However, Bali has experienced five incidents in February 
and East Java experienced clusters of increased outbreaks during 
January and February. Animal health experts in the MOA and the 
United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) are using 
the information gleaned from the improved data collection to focus 
and strengthen village-level AI control. 
 
¶7. (SBU) AI remains entrenched in the western half of Java and 
southern Sumatra and concern continues about conditions in 
commercial poultry farms. USDA, the United States Agency for 
International Development, and other donors are implementing and 
expanding AI control efforts in partnership with commercial 
industry. Over the past year, the MOA has also increased efforts to 
partner with commercial industry; however, they will need to 
overcome significant, mutual distrust and gaps in partnership 
expectations. 
 
HUME