"Dr. Chan, it's the Bali Chamber of Commerce calling..."
Scott McPherson
in influenza and infectious diseases
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1 Comment
As several alert and talented flu bloggers have revealed (FLA_MEDIC and Crofs, for starters,) Indonesia has sent live virus samples of the Bali H5N1 human infections to the WHO, apparently in an effort to prove to wary vacationers that there is "nothing to see here, have a nice day in Bali and KEEP SPENDING THAT CASH," thereby salvaging its suddenly shaky tourism industry. Apparently, four suspected cases of bird flu have accomplished what Al Qaeda bombs have not; namely, to inject chaos into the island's tourism economy.
Government sends Bali bird flu sample to WHO
JAKARTA (Antara): The government has agreed to sent a bird flu virus sample that has killed a woman in Bali to the World Health Organization (WHO), Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari (pictured above) said Friday.Siti Fadilah said the Bali bird flu sample sharing was necessary to prove that the deadly virus had yet to spread from human to human.
Besides, it was also important to avoid panic in Bali, which is a famous tourist destination in the world, she said.
The government has refused to share bird flu sample with the WHO as Indonesia could not afford to buy bird flu vaccines produced by international laboratories based on samples from various countries including Indonesia.
It has repeatedly demanded better access to pandemic vaccines.
Bird flu has killed 83 people in Indonesia, the highest death toll in the world. (***)
So tourist dollars are more important than human lives. It's nice to know the Indonesians at least are transparent about their disregard about the rest of the world's fate.
With this action, Indonesia has officially begun behaving more like a wrestling bad-guy than a nation. After stinging the world yet again with its cry of "You want live virus samples, let us cut in line for vaccine!," the revelation of H5N1 human death and possible infection in two areas of Bali has the island fathers in absolute turmoil. So, like the bad guy wrestler who gets backed into a corner and starts begging for mercy from the good guy, Indonesia has now sent Bali live virus samples to the WHO.
Memo to Dr. Chan: If I were you, I would not turn my back on this wrestler. Supari will reach for the folding chair or dig into her tights and pull out what the late Gordon Solie used to describe as "a foreign object."
Reader Comments (1)
Bali is a horrible corrupt place. If you go there just pay the bribes. They do not mess around.