Hope this question is not dumb. Is the WHO or some other outside organization inside Indonesia overseeing all this “energy” over there? Who is in charge of them culling birds? Are we assuming thier government is handling it? It seems so out of control there.
Lurker, I don’t know this for sure (am not a government official or even a medical person) but I have traveled to Indonesia — it is a country that is VERY prickly about allowing outsiders in (for instance the US Navy had to be very careful about what tsunami help it gave because the Indonesian government didn’t want helicopters flying over certain areas)
Also, Indonesia has a highly decentralized government — every village/area/region/province has its poo-bahs who decide local stuff. Indonesia is made up of thousands of islands with many, many ethnic groups. So, not only did WHO researchers get turned away from Karo after bird flu cases there, there were also reports of the villagers refusing to allow an Indonesian vet to collect swab samples from their pigs.
China may be very heavy handed sometimes, but there the “say” of a Beijing administrator carries some weight. There are some very good reasons to be concerned about the situation in Indonesia.
Olymom- that’s kindof what I thought. I wonder if that is why things have spiraled out of control over there. Not trying to place blame, but I sure wish more would be done to contain things over there. I have a feeling that when a pandemic starts, it will start in Indonesia. I wonder if the WHO or other agency is trying to talk with them (gently, of course.)
The above comment was me, Lurker. I cleared my cookies. Sorry.
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