Fri Apr 25, 2:01 AM ET An Indonesian mock bird flu patient is checked by a nurse
at a hospital during a bird flu drill in Jembrana,
Indonesia, Friday, April 25, 2008. Indonesia launched a
major bird flu drill that will test the ability of the
nation hardest hit by the virus to respond to a possible
pandemic. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) (BIRD FLU Massive) Fri Apr 25, 2:01 AM ET Health workers in protective suits evacuate a man during
a bird flu outbreak drill, on April 25, in Tukaddaya
village, some 80 kilometers (48 miles) west of Denpasar on
the resort island of Bali. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka) (BIRD FLU
Massive) Fri Apr 25, 2:01 AM ET An Indonesian nurse puts a mask on a mock suspect of bird
flu at a hospital during a bird flu drill in Jembrana,
Indonesia Friday, April, 25, 2008. Indonesia launched a
major bird flu drill that will test the ability of the
nation hardest hit by the virus to respond to a possible
pandemic. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) (BIRD FLU Massive) Fri Apr 25, 5:31 AM ET Health workers in protective suits take part in a bird
flu outbreak drill, on April 25, in Tukaddaya village, some
80 kilometers (48 miles) west of Denpasar on the resort
island of Bali.(AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka) (BIRD FLU Massive) Fri Apr 25, 5:31 AM ET A government official holds a culled chicken during a
bird flu simulation exercise in Jembrana on the Indonesian
resort island of Bali April 25, 2008. Indonesia, which has
the world's highest human death toll from bird flu, launched
an exercise on Bali on Friday to test its ability to deal
with a pandemic triggered by the virus. REUTERS/Murdani
Usman (BIRD FLU Massive) Fri Apr 25, 5:31 AM ET Indonesian health workers burn poultry during a bird flu
drill in the Tukaddaya. Hundreds of Indonesian villagers and
health workers have taken part in a massive drill to prepare
for a potentially devastating outbreak of human-to-human
bird flu. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka) (BIRD FLU Massive) Fri Apr 25, 5:24 AM ET A government official takes a blood sample from a chicken
during a bird flu simulation exercise in Jembrana on the
Indonesian resort island of Bali April 25, 2008. Indonesia,
which has the world's highest human death toll from bird
flu, launched an exercise on Bali on Friday to test its
ability to deal with a pandemic triggered by the virus.
(BIRD FLU Massive) Fri Apr 25, 5:24 AM ET Indonesian health official burns dead chickens during a
bird flu drill in Jembrana, Friday, April 25, 2008.
Indonesia launched a major bird flu drill Friday that will
test the ability of the nation hardest hit by the virus to
respond to a possible pandemic. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
(BIRD FLU Massive) Fri Apr 25, 5:24 AM ET Government officials take part in a bird flu simulation
exercise in Jembrana on the Indonesian resort island of Bali
April 25, 2008. Indonesia, which has the world's highest
human death toll from bird flu, launched an exercise on Bali
on Friday to test its ability to deal with a pandemic
triggered by the virus. REUTERS/Murdani Usman (BIRD FLU
Massive) Mon Apr 28, 4:14 AM ET Indonesian hospital staffs carry a supposed foreign
tourist suspicious of bird flu infection at Sanglah hospital
in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Sunday, April, 27, 2008.
Three-day simulation started on the resort island of Bali
test the ability of the nation hardest hit by bird flu to
respond to a potentially catastrophic pandemic. Thousands
were taking part, from local residents to government
officials. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) (BIRD FLU
Massive) Mon Apr 28, 4:27 AM ET Indonesian health officials spray disinfectant to a car
at the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Kuta, Bali,
Indonesia, on Sunday, April 27, 2008. Three-day simulation
started on the resort island of Bali test the ability of the
nation hardest hit by bird flu to respond to a potentially
catastrophic pandemic. Thousands were taking part, from
local residents to government officials. (AP Photo/Firdia
Lisnawati) (BIRD FLU Massive) Indonesian authorities on Sunday wrapped up a major
three-day bird flu drill on the resort island of Bali with
an exercise focused on passengers at the island's
international airport. In the simulation, departing passengers were made to pass
a scanner that detects body temperature. Among the
travellers were three undercover personnel who simulated
having high fever but insisted on leaving on their
flights. Staff steered them to a clinic at the airport and when
test results showed they might have bird flu infections, the
three were sent to the main hospital in Denpasar. Despite posters notifying the public of the exercise,
some tourists appeared concerned by the operations, as all
personnel involved in the operation were wearing face
masks. "We were a bit worried but then we saw the posters. It's
fine, better be prepared," said Angela Foster, an Australian
tourist who was to fly back home through the airport. "It is important as part of our bird flu containment
efforts. We do not want to export a disease," I Nyoman
Kandun, the health ministry's director general for handling
of infectious disease, told journalists at the airport. The simulation was the last part of a national exercise
practising how to contain the spread of a bird flu
outbreak. Indonesia is the nation worst hit by the bird flu so far,
with 107 dead since the first human case appeared here in
2005. Transmissions have so far been from bird to human but
experts worry that the H5N1 virus that causes the disease
could mutate and allow human-to-human transmission, leading
to a pandemic.
Indonesia runs airport bird flu drill
Mon Apr 28, 4:27 AM ET