Emergency Assistance in response to Avian Influenza Epidemic in Indonesia

October 25, 2005

1. Japan has decided to provide medical equipment (testing kits for laboratories, diagnostic equipment and reagent) worth 25 million yen in total including the transportation cost, based on the report by a survey team dispatched in September in response to the avian influenza epidemic upon the request of the Government of Indonesia. The equipment, to be transported to Indonesia on October 25, will be handed over to the Government of Indonesia immediately after arriving there.
2. In Indonesia, a bird flu epidemic has been spreading since July, when a case of death in a human infected was confirmed. The WHO reports as of October 25 that seven cases of bird flu infection have been confirmed (four out of seven were fatal) and over 80 suspected cases are being kept under observation.
3. It is strongly hoped that the assistance will contribute to stamping out the bird flu epidemic in Indonesia and strengthening the measures taken by Indonesia for fending off the avian influenza.