Life is Healthy

• Bengkulu still on bird flu alert
• Two children believed infected by bird flu
• Bird flu continuing to menace Cirebon district
• Bird flu kills hundreds of chickens in Jambi
• Bird flu spreading in Kerinci district

• Bird flu continuing to menace Cirebon district
• Bird flu spreading in Kerinci district
• Bird flu spreads further in Japan
• Bird flu threatens Samarinda
• Japanese PM urges hard efforts to fight bird flu

Governments around the world stockpiled antiviral drugs

Key scientists behind World Health Organization advice on stockpiling of pandemic flu drugs had financial ties with companies which stood to profit, an investigation has found.

The British Medical Journal says the scientists had openly declared these interests in other publications yet WHO made no mention of the links.

It comes as a report from the Council of Europe criticised the lack of transparency around the handling of the swine flu pandemic.

A spokesman for WHO said the drug industry did not influence its decisions on swine flu.

Guidelines recommending governments stockpile antiviral drugs were issued by WHO in 2004.

The advice prompted many countries around the world into buying up large stocks of Tamiflu, made by Roche, and Relenza manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.

A year after the swine flu pandemic was declared, stocks are left unused in warehouses and governments are attempting to unpick contracts.

Conflict of interest

The BMJ, in a joint investigation with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, found that three scientists involved in putting together the 2004 guidance had previously been paid by Roche or GSK for lecturing and consultancy work as well as being involved in research for the companies.

Although the scientists involved had freely declared the links in other places and said WHO asked for conflicts of interest forms prior to expert meetings, the ties were not publically declared by WHO.

It is not clear whether these conflicts were notified privately by WHO to governments around the world, the BMJ said, and a request to see conflict of interest declarations was turned down.

In addition, membership of the "emergency committee" which advised WHO's director general Margaret Chan on declaring an influenza pandemic has been kept secret.

It means the names of the 16 committee members are known only to people within WHO, and as such their possible conflicts of interest with drug companies are unknown.

On its website, WHO says: "Potential conflicts of interest are inherent in any relationship between a normative and health development agency, like WHO, and a profit-driven industry.

"Similar considerations apply when experts advising the Organization have professional links with pharmaceutical companies.

"Numerous safeguards are in place to manage possible conflicts of interest or their perception."

Antara News, Wednesday, February 17, 2010 04:49 WIB

Garut, W Java (ANTARA News) - The bird flu viruses attacking Indonesia have been classified as "highly pathogenic avian influenza" (HPAI), a veterinarian said here Tuesday.

In the West Java district of Garut alone, there were at least 75 cases of HPAI between 2006 and 2010 in which more than 2,893 chickens suddenly died, Dida K.Endang said.

The attacks of bird flu viruses in 48 villages of Garut district over the past four years had sparked fears of human infection, said the head of Garut`s veterinary office.

To protect local residents from the worst possibilities, a total of 7,000 infected chickens were culled.

Local authorities paid the owners a compensation of Rp12,500 (US$1,4) for every culled chicken, Endang said.

However, not all people welcomed the amount of compensation. Instead of giving the positively infected chickens for culling, they hid the poultry and just handed over small chickens, he said.

As a result, the efforts to control and halt the spread of bird flu viruses in Garut district were not so successful. This condition was worsened by the lack of locals` health awareness, he said.

Instead of burning the infected chickens, many Garut residents throw them into rivers, creeks, or ponds. Worse, some even consumed the infected chickens, he said.

In curbing the spread of the dangerous viruses, he urged the people to report any suspicious bird flu cases immediately to 12 bird flu surveillance teams.

The team members would have gone to the suspicious spots within 24 hours. The people could also report the condition to the heads of neighborhoods or villages, he said.

The West Java provincial government had targeted that by 2014 the province would have been free from bird flu viruses, Endang said.

The habit of throwing the bird flu-infected chickens into the river was not only found in Garut but also in such other West Java towns as Bogor.

This situation had also made Head of Bogor City`s Health Office Triawan Elan deeply concerned.

"We have asked local residents, who find chickens suddenly die not to throw them into the rivers but to burn them," Triawan Elan said recently.

He warned that the threats of bird flu viruses remained real after tens of chickens in Caparigi suburb suddenly died.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), avian influenza or "bird flu" is a contagious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs.

The WHO has warned that the infection with avian influenza viruses could spread very rapidly through poultry flocks.

Indonesia has 33 provinces. Only three have been confirmed free from the threat of bird flu viruses.

Indonesia has been dealing with bird flu since 2005. However, the H5N1 type influenza is also known to have attacked chicken and birds in other Asian countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia, China, and Vietnam.

This is the finding of a study by Pharos, which gathers information on refugees and health. In the study 66 Dutch African women, who had been subjected to the practice, were questioned. They were found to be stressed, anxious and aggressive. The study also found that this group of women were more likely to have rows with their partners or in some cases would not dare enter a relationship.

On the positive side, women were more likely to say no to the practice if they knew it was banned in the country where they live.

An estimated 50 women or girls are believed to be circumcised every year in the Netherlands. Critics of the practice say it is mutilation of the female genitals.

This is the first time that a study has been carried out into the psychiatric and social complaints associated with female circumcision.

The report has been published to mark the international day against female genital mutilation today.

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