Indonesian Government Launched National Avian Influenza Mitigation Plan

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The government has launched a National Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan / NPPRP to anticipate the worst case scenario of avian influenza infection from human to human. The document was launched in Jakarta along with the announcement of a simulation for avian influenza mitigation in Jembrana district in Bali on 25 to 27 April, 2008. Guidelines for all offices and agencies are included in the document.
Bayu Krisnamurthi, Chief Executive of the National Committee for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (Komnas FBPI), explained that the document was developed by Komnas FBPI through long discussions with national and international health experts, representatives from the government and representatives from organizational bodies of the United Nations (UN).

“We launched the March 2008 edition of the preparedness plan. This is a live document, meaning it will be continually reviewed and adjusted to the current situation and condition,” he said. He also added that the simulation done in Jembrana was also to test the plan.
Moreover, he explained that the plan also included estimates of the impact of a pandemic influenza and the scenario to overcome it.
It is estimated, he said, that if one day a pandemic influenza hits Indonesia, there will be approximately 66 million people clinically ill (30 percent of the population); 33 million people will be out patients, 633,600 people will be hospitalized, 95,040 people will need intensive care, 47,520 people will need respiratory aid, and 153,120 people is estimated to die.
“We have prepared two mitigation scenarios, first is if the epicenter was here [in Indonesia] and if it is outside of Indonesia. In this case, the key offices are the Ministry of Health and the local government. Meanwhile the authority to declare the pandemic status and early response is in the hands of the Minister of Health,” he said.
He added that the scenario was made based on the damage level of the Asian flu pandemic and the 1968 Hong Kong flu.
He also said that development of the plan and simulation was to increase the preparedness of all parties, including the general public, to prevent and anticipate the possibility of a pandemic influenza in Indonesia.
Source: Antara