BALI, 2 May 2008 (IRIN) - The village is quarantined as medical workers clad in full protective body gear swing into action. The military and police are drafted in to halt what could be the beginnings of a deadly and disastrous global human bird flu pandemic.
The three-day simulated exercise from 25-27 April, which included a drill at Bali's international airport aimed at preventing travellers from exporting the H5N1 virus, was held in the country most likely to be the epicentre of a significant human outbreak, if not full-scale pandemic. Indonesia has suffered 108 bird flu deaths, the highest toll anywhere in the world.
Fourteen deaths alone have occurred in 2008 as archipelagic Indonesia, which was initially accused of being slow to respond to its outbreaks, grapples with the virus now endemic in birds in 31 of the country's 33 sprawling provinces.
Bayu Krisnamurthi, executive director of Indonesia's National Committee for Bird Flu Control and Pandemic Preparedness, said the simulation was just part of Indonesia's overall avian flu/pandemic preparedness strategy. He said more must be done in preparation for a possible pandemic. But he hailed the exercise, which it took around six months to prepare.
"It was very successful, particularly in terms of participation and the attention from international partners," he told IRIN, referring to the over 50 international observer groups who attended the massive drill.
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