Jakarta - Indonesia, which has the world's highest human death toll from H5N1 avian influenza, inaugurated an integrated bird flu centre on Wednesday as part of renewed efforts to contain a potential human outbreak of the deadly virus. The centre is a pilot project located in Banten province in West Java, the worst-affected region. If it is successful, additional centres would be opened in other regions of the sprawling archipelago nation.
The project is aimed at helping Indonesia control and isolate bird flu outbreaks among fowl and was jointly established by the governments of Indonesia, Singapore and the United States. The centre will conduct surveillance, enact bio-security and other portions of Indonesia's national bird flu prevention strategy, in West Java and Banten provinces.
Aburizal Bakrie, Indonesian minister for people's welfare, signed an agreement with Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan during a ceremony in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Bakrie said the agreement among the three countries runs for three years, the state-run Antara news agency reported.
Indonesia contributed 2.25 million dollars to the project, Singapore gave 1.5 million dollars and the US gave 900,000 dollars, Bakrie said.
Under the agreement, Indonesia also receives equipment and transfers of technology from the US, and Tamiflu, a bird flu vaccine, from Singapore.
The project will enable officials to recommend approaches in reducing bird flu outbreaks on the ground that can be applied to other areas in Indonesia, said Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of the National Commission on Bird Flu Prevention.
The project was initiated by leaders of Indonesia, Singapore and the US on the sidelines of the 2005 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, Bakrie said.
Indonesia has had 75 deaths from 95 bird flu cases, including at least 18 people this year.
The vast majority of the 172 people worldwide who have died of bird flu as of April 30 were in direct contact with sick birds, but scientists fear the virus might mutate into a form more easily transmissible among humans, causing a global pandemic that could kill millions.
Alarmed by a sudden spike in bird flu deaths in January, the Indonesian government declared a ban on backyard poultry farms in residential areas of nine provinces.
In addition, the government also placed tight restrictions on the movement and sale of poultry and poultry products across the nine provinces and is preparing more hospitals to treat human cases of the virus.
