JAKARTA, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet)- - Indonesia on Saturday urged people to remain calm after it confirmed a fourth death from the bird flu virus earlier this week and decided to take tough action to contain the spread of disease.
"We appeal to the public to help us by remaining calm. We will work very hard to minimize this disease so that it will not spread further," the website of Jakarta Post quoted Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari as saying.
Meanwhile, I Nyoman Kandun, the ministry's director general of disease control, said on Saturday that a six-year-old girl was also being treated in Jakarta as a "suspected case" of bird flu.
Commenting on mounting international concern that bird flu could mutate into a major killer, Nyoman said Indonesia would carry out "comprehensive efforts" to stop further outbreaks.
Birds will be vaccinated, people visiting infected areas will be monitored, hospitals will be told how to cope with bird flu patients and an information campaign on the virus will be launched,he said.
Indonesia launched a massive vaccination drive against the disease after a man and his two daughters died of bird flu in suburban Jakarta in July, but has been criticized for carrying out only limited culls.
The World Health Organization requires that poultry within a radius of three kilometers (1.9 miles) from any bird flu outbreak be killed.
Health experts have warned that the bird flu virus could spark a global pandemic if it developed the ability to spread quickly among humans. Enditem
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