Coercion Needed in Bird Flu Fight, VP Kalla Says

Currently Indonesia has a confirmed death toll of 48 people, the world’s highest human toll from avian influenza. According to this article, in order to effectively deal with the disease, Vice President Jusuf Kalla believes that the government needs to use coercion in cases where poultry owners refuse to allow their infected fowl to be culled.

The Vice President argued that under the law on prevention of infectious diseases, the use of force is permitted to control avian flu. He cited as an example the case in Tanah Karo, North Sumatra, where many locals refused to cull their infected fowl and as a result, police and soldiers were called in to supervise the culling of the infected birds.

According to South Sulawesi Governor Amin Syam, the refusal to cull infected poultry is due to the lack of awareness of the danger of bird flu and the low compensation that is offered for culled fowl.