Bird flu threatens Indonesian quake survivors

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

Bantul - Bird flu could threaten survivors of Indonesia's earthquake, an aid agency warned on Saturday, after finding people whose homes were destroyed sheltering in dung-smeared chicken sheds.

British medical aid agency Merlin warned that some of the 647 000 people left homeless were taking shelter in chicken sheds, risking possible infection from bird flu.

More than 100 people were staying in six large poultry sheds in Pundong in Bantul district, some with chicken droppings remaining on the bamboo slats, Merlin said.

Indonesia has had a surge of bird flu cases in the past month, and some have been reported in districts surrounding the quake zone.

more: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=126&art_id=vn20060604082836786C406211

[Neshanic]

1. Silly scientists. Don't they know it's all a conspiracy?

I mean really, some goofy disease that some people here think is a just a big pharmaceutcal ploy is now playing out.

It's all part of the big plan...

Saying the WTC collapse was kinda strange, get you an express ticket to the nuthouse, but the huge network of the bird-flu inner sanctum plots is entirely palusable.

[progressivebydesign]

2. Damn! I wrote about this last week.. and no one commented..

they let it drop into nothingness here on DU. At the first moment I heard about the earthquake there, in a country that claims it can't do anything about the bird flu because they have no money, I knew this had the potential to be catasprophic. You have a disease like the bird flu in a country that refuses to cull the birds, educate the people, and get serious about it... and that country has a disaster that plunges entire areas into a sanitation nightmare.. this is not good. Now that it's in print somewhere, people will take my comments on it seriously.

I have never been a bird flu alarmist, but when the earthquake happened, we had just read of the family deaths in Indonesia from the bird flu, and the comments from the govt there that they didn't have money to reimburse poultry farmers for culling infected flocks.

Bush should get off his stupid fat ass and address this PRONTO.

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. It's like Indonesia has a bulls eye painted on it.

What else can possible happen to those poor people.

And, even worse, I guess, is the fact that it will be a perfect breeding ground for that disease.

The only worse place might be among the desperately poor in Africa - and I think bird flu has made it to Africa now.