(Subjects: Religion/Worship, Lightworkers, Food, Health, Prescription Drugs, Homeopathy, Innate (Body intelligence), New Age movement, Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text version)

“…… Should I use Doctors and Drugs to Heal Me or Spiritual Methods?

"Dear Kryon, I have heard that you should stay natural and not use the science on the planet for healing. It does not honor God to go to a doctor. After all, don't you say that we can heal with our minds? So why should we ever go to a doctor if we can do it ourselves? Not only that, my doctor isn't enlightened, so he has no idea about my innate or my spiritual body needs. What should I do?"

First, Human Being, why do you wish to put so many things in boxes? You continue to want a yes and no answer for complex situations due to your 3D, linear outlook on almost everything. Learn to think out of the 3D box! Look at the heading of this section [above]. It asks which one should you do. It already assumes you can't do both because they seem dichotomous.

Let's use some spiritual logic: Here is a hypothetical answer, "Don't go to a doctor, for you can heal everything with your mind." So now I will ask: How many of you can do that in this room right now? How many readers can do that with efficiency right now? All of you are old souls, but are you really ready to do that? Do you know how? Do you have really good results with it? Can you rid disease and chemical imbalance with your mind right now?

I'm going to give you a truth, whether you choose to see it or not. You're not ready for that! You are not yet prepared to take on the task of full healing using your spiritual tools. Lemurians could do that, because Pleiadians taught them how! It's one of the promises of God, that there'll come a day when your DNA works that efficiently and you will be able to walk away from drug chemistry and the medical industry forever, for you'll have the creator's energy working at 100 percent, something you saw within the great masters who walked the earth.

This will be possible within the ascended earth that you are looking forward to, dear one. Have you seen the news lately? Look out the window. Is that where you are now? We are telling you that the energy is going in that direction, but you are not there yet.

Let those who feel that they can heal themselves begin the process of learning how. Many will be appreciative of the fact that you have some of the gifts for this now. Let the process begin, but don't think for a moment that you have arrived at a place where every health issue can be healed with your own power. You are students of a grand process that eventually will be yours if you wish to begin the quantum process of talking to your cells. Some will be good at this, and some will just be planting the seeds of it.

Now, I would like to tell you how Spirit works and the potentials of what's going to happen in the next few years. We're going to give the doctors of the planet new inventions and new science. These will be major discoveries about the Human body and of the quantum attributes therein.

Look at what has already happened, for some of this science has already been given to you and you are actually using it. Imagine a science that would allow the heart to be transplanted because the one you have is failing. Of course! It's an operation done many times a month on this planet. That information came from the creator, did you realize that? It didn't drop off the shelf of some dark energy library to be used in evil ways.

So, if you need a new heart, Lightworker, should you go to the doctor or create one with your mind? Until you feel comfortable that you can replace your heart with a new one by yourself, then you might consider using the God-given information that is in the hands of the surgeon. For it will save your life, and create a situation where you stay and continue to send your light to the earth! Do you see what we're saying?

You can also alter that which is medicine [drugs] and begin a process that is spectacular in its design, but not very 3D. I challenge you to begin to use what I would call the homeopathic principle with major drugs. If some of you are taking major drugs in order to alter your chemistry so that you can live better and longer, you might feel you have no choice. "Well, this is keeping me alive," you might say. "I don't yet have the ability to do this with my consciousness, so I take the drugs."

In this new energy, there is something else that you can try if you are in this category. Do the following with safety, intelligence, common sense and logic. Here is the challenge: The principle of homeopathy is that an almost invisible tincture of a substance is ingested and is seen by your innate. Innate "sees" what you are trying to do and then adjusts the body's chemistry in response. Therefore, you might say that you are sending the body a "signal for balance." The actual tincture is not large enough to affect anything chemically - yet it works!

The body [innate] sees what you're trying to do and then cooperates. In a sense, you might say the body is healing itself because you were able to give it instructions through the homeopathic substance of what to do. So, why not do it with a major drug? Start reducing the dosage and start talking to your cells, and see what happens. If you're not successful, then stop the reduction. However, to your own amazement, you may often be successful over time.

You might be able to take the dosage that you're used to and cut it to at least a quarter of what it was. It is the homeopathy principle and it allows you to keep the purpose of the drug, but reduce it to a fraction of a common 3D dosage. You're still taking it internally, but now it's also signaling in addition to working chemically. The signal is sent, the body cooperates, and you reduce the chance of side effects.

You can't put things in boxes of yes or no when it comes to the grand system of Spirit. You can instead use spiritual logic and see the things that God has given you on the planet within the inventions and processes. Have an operation, save your life, and stand and say, "Thank you, God, for this and for my being born where these things are possible." It's a complicated subject, is it not? Each of you is so different! You'll know what to do, dear one. Never stress over that decision, because your innate will tell you what is appropriate for you if you're willing to listen. ….”

Monsanto / GMO - Global Health


(Subjects: Big pharma [the drug companies of America] are going to have to change very soon or collapse. When you have an industry that keeps people sick for money, it cannot survive in the new consciousness., Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text version)
"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)
"THE BRIDGE OF SWORDS" – Sep 29, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: ... I'm in Canada and I know it, but I will tell those listening and reading in the American audience the following: Get ready! Because there are some institutions that are yet to fall, ones that don't have integrity and that could never be helped with a bail out. Again, we tell you the biggest one is big pharma, and we told you that before. It's inevitable. If not now, then in a decade. It's inevitable and they will fight to stay alive and they will not be crossing the bridge. For on the other side of the bridge is a new way, not just for medicine but for care. ....) - (Text Version)

Pharmaceutical Fraud / Corruption cases

Health Care

Health Care
Happy birthday to Percy Julian, a pioneer in plant-drug synthesis. His research produced steroids like cortisone. (11 April 2014)

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Obama to lift HIV/AIDS travel ban

CNN International, October 30, 2009 -- Updated 1805 GMT (0205 HKT)


"If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it," President Obama said Friday.

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama announced Friday that he will lift a 22-year-old ban on entry into the United States for people infected with HIV/AIDS.

The administration intends to publish a new federal rule next week eliminating the ban by the start of 2010, he said.

"We talk about reducing the stigma of this disease, yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat," he said at the White House. "If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it."

Obama said that lifting the ban is a "step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment. It's a step that will keep families together, and it's a step that will save lives."

The United States, he said, is one of only a dozen countries that still bar the entry of people with HIV.

Obama made the announcement shortly before signing legislation extending federally funded HIV/AIDS treatment for hundreds of thousands of underinsured, low-income Americans.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act authorizes a 5 percent annual increase in federal support over the next four years. Funding under the law is scheduled to rise from more than $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2010 to nearly $3 billion in fiscal year 2013.

Among other things, the law helps ensure continued funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative, designed to address "the disproportionate impact of the disease on racial and ethnic minorities," according to a White House statement.

The measure easily passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives last week. Similar legislation first passed almost 20 years ago and was reauthorized in 1996, 2000 and 2006.

An estimated 1 million people in the United States have HIV, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost one-quarter of them are not aware that they are infected, the CDC says.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Swedish teenager raped in Bali

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/30/2009 10:00 PM

A 19-year-old girl from Sweden identified as CEB claimed she was raped in Kuta, Bali Police said Friday.

"She refused to be questioned further, but we will hunt the rapist by gathering information in Kuta," Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Sutisna said as quoted by kompas.com

"We hope to find the rapist quickly because the case happened to a foreigner."

He added foreign tourists should be able to protect themselves because police had a limited number of officers to safeguard all the tourists.

Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. I Gede Alit Widana said the victim reported the case to the police when she was still drunk.

Police suspected the rapist was an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver in Kuta.


Let me prove it all in my work: Endang

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 10/29/2009 1:13 PM

The new commander of the health portfolio promises she will be competent in the role despite criticism following her appointment.

Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih made her maiden public appearance at a health expo Wednesday after her installment last week.

The public did not know much about Endang, who abruptly replaced other Nila Juwita Anfasa Muluk just a day before the President announced his Cabinet lineup last Tuesday.

Hours after her selection, rumors arose, including from her predecessor, Siti Fadilah Supari who organized a press conference to respond to the President's decision.

Siti accused Endang of smuggling H5N1 bird flu virus samples overseas.

Officials at the ministry were also shocked by Endang's appointment.

"Many people phoned me minutes after asking who Endang was," an official who asked for anonymity told The Jakarta Post.

"But I could not answer because I didn't know Endang *at the time*."

Endang began her career at the Health Ministry in 1990, but she was demoted by Siti in 2008, an action many officials believed was her punishment for carrying virus specimens abroad without consulting the minister.

"The demotion was an ordinary thing and as staff, we must abide by orders," Endang said after her recent inauguration.

The mother of three holds a masters and PhD from the School of Public Health at the prestigious Harvard University in Boston, United States.

A graduate of the University of Indonesia in 1979, Endang joined the Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta as a clinician.

She then moved to the Waipare Health Center in East Nusa Tenggara as head of the community health center before joining the Jakarta Health agency in 1983.

In 2001, Endang moved to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, as a technical adviser at the Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response.

Endang was named coordinator and researcher of the avian influenza program for the Health Ministry's Center for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research and Program Development in 2006, Jakarta.

In 2007, she was promoted to director of the center.

Additionally, she worked as part of an advisory team and as a country consultant for foreign agencies including WHO, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Australian government's overseas aid program (AusAID) and the World Bank.

She also wrote a series of articles for international journals, including "Epidemiology of cases of H5N1 virus infection in Indonesia" in 2007.

Responding to the accusation, she said "That's not true.

"I've never taken the virus overseas. I've never sold it.

"I only conducted research with my colleagues."

Endang also denied allegations her appointment was backed by foreign organizations and the local tobacco industry, saying it was only a rumor based on her frequent partnership with foreign researchers.

She said she would follow in the steps of her predecessor by maintaining the suspension of the US Navy's Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 (Namru-2) laboratory in Jakarta.

"We had to close Namru-2 because it was a military unit," Endang said.

"But Indonesia's cooperation with the US will continue and covers a wide range of areas, including the operation of the biomedical lab.

"Details of this partnership will be provided soon," she said.

"The point is it aims to advance biomedical technology."

Namru-2 began operation in Indonesia in 1970 as a joint-research laboratory to study virus strains under a partnership between the US Navy and the Indonesian Health Ministry.

The laboratory is located in the ministry's research and development center.

But the two countries have agreed to form a center for medical research to forge cooperation in joint-research activities.

Related Articles:

Health Ministry to form commission on specimen transfer

New health minister denies virus-smuggling accusation


Thursday, October 29, 2009

Netherlands - 10 swine flu hospital admissions a day

DutchNews.nl, Wednesday 28 October 2009

Ten people are being admitted to hospital with swine flu on a daily basis, according to new figures from the health ministry.

One in 10 patients is taken in to intensive care, the ministry told news agency Novum on Wednesday. The Netherlands has officially been in the middle of a 'light' swine flu epidemic since Friday.

Last week a 14-year-old girl became the first apparently healthy person in the Netherlands to die from the H1N1 virus, bringing the death toll to six. A 16-year-old girl who died suddenly on Monday was found not to have the virus, officials say.

Pressure is now mounting on the health ministry to make vaccinating young children a priority when the vaccination programme begins next month. At the moment, the elderly, pregnant women and health service workers are first on the list.

Epidemiologist Jim van Steenbergen says in Wednesday's AD it is a 'question of time' until babies and toddlers die. 'Little ones get into trouble because they are still so fragile,' he was quoted as saying.

The national health institute RIVM says a relatively large number of the hospital and intensive care patients are young children. Deaths among this age group are 'almost unavoidable,' a spokesman told the Telegraaf.

Virologist Ab Osterhaus said parents should notify their doctor as soon as children show signs of being short of breath.

Related Articles:

A viral infection has killed 30 people in Ukraine

China faces "severe challenges" in combating A/H1N1 flu: State Council

Swine Flu Vaccine Scarcity Stirs Anger in U.S. Cities

U.S. government faces no-win fight with flu


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Expert: Indonesia short of 9,000 veterinarians

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Wed, 10/28/2009 9:46 PM

Indonesia will need 9,000 more veterinarians by 2020 to deal with future infectious animal diseases and to help develop cattle farming, an expert says.

Bambang Sumiarto, dean of Gadjah Mada University’s School of Veterinary Sciences, told a workshop on Wednesday that with only 11,000 veterinarians available, many regions could not eradicate infectious animal diseases due to a shortfall in specialists.

“As a result, experts other than veterinarians are taking over the veterinary jobs,” Bambang said.

There are currently five veterinary schools across the country producing graduates – UGM, Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, Airlangga University in Surabaya and Udayana University in Denpasar. Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, Mataram University in West Nusa Tenggara and Wijaya Kusuma University in Surabaya have only recently opened veterinary schools, and have yet to produce qualified veterinarians.

With less than 1,000 veterinary students graduating annually, the country faces difficulties in improving animal health, he said.

In the past few years, Indonesia has been fighting both avian influenza and its H1N1 variant, two diseases transmitted by animals.


Learning from history

Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 10/28/2009 10:03 AM


A preventive shot: After the pandemic subsided in 1920, the dutch colonial government pledged to no longer take risks with infectious diseases. Mass vaccination campaigns were launched, with the government sending out new breeds of doctors, graduates of a colonial government-sponsored medical school, to big cities across Java. Courtesy of UI Flu Pandemic History Research Team


The H1N1 virus has swept the world before, with millions succumbing to it. But that means it has provided lessons we can learn from — if we choose to learn, that is.

The nearly forgotten pandemic, Western scholars call it, when they refer to the 1918 flu pandemic — also known as Spanish flu — which claimed somewhere between 50 million and 100 million lives around the world.

It was barely recognized in Indonesia until a group of historians revealed just how devastating the 1918 flu pandemic was in the archipelago.

In Tana Toraja in Sulawesi, where 10 percent of the population reportedly died from the flu, the then-mysterious outbreak was called Raa’ba Biang or fallen trees.

“Three of my aunts died at the same time. They all died after days of fever,” said Toraja community head Kun Masora, as quoted by University of Indonesia History of Flu Pandemic Team.

Masora’s relatives are only a few of the “trees that fell” during the outbreak. In November 1918 alone, 400,000 deaths due to influenza were recorded.

According to one historical record, on July 1, 1918, residents of Tanjong Pandan in the eastern part of Sumatra were infected by passengers of a ship arriving from Singapore. It didn’t take long for the disease to spread to Batavia, Medan and several areas in Kalimantan.

In that same month, West Java’s Bandung, Central Java’s Purworejo and Kudus and three other cities in East Java were affected. By the end of that month, major outbreaks of the disease had been recorded in most parts of Java and Kalimantan.

And that was just the beginning. It went on to propel the “fallen trees” in Tana Toraja. However, despite a high rate of infection, between July and August the mortality rate was generally low. For a few weeks afterward, the Dutch colonial government recorded a decline in cases and fatalities.

Then, a month later, things turned nasty: It peaked in November 1918, with mortality rates far surpassing the year’s cumulative outbreaks of other infectious diseases.

“The November epidemic covered a much larger territory; there were few areas in Netherlands East Indies that were not infected by the influenza,” historians write. Records showed that most of those who died were young adults.

Fast forward to the present, just months after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the “swine flu” a pandemic. Nearly 5,000 people have reportedly died from swine flu since it emerged this year and developed into a global epidemic, WHO said last week.

Indonesia’s own count from August reveals that six people have died from the H1N1 virus, and 1,033 had been seriously infected, the Health Ministry said.

Will we see a similar cycle to the 1918 pandemic?


Alternative cure: The absence of medicine to cure the deadly flu forced people to use alternative treatments, such as jamu (traditional herbal drink). During the 1918 pandemic, temulawak (a wild-ginger based drink) was often promoted as a healthy alternative to increase people’s stamina and help them survive the flu. Courtesy of UI Flu Pandemic History Research Team


“Currently, there haven’t been any new cases reported,” the Health Ministry’s director general for disease control and environmental health Tjandra Yoga Aditama said.

“We’ll never know for sure whether there will be a second wave to the declared pandemic. All we can do is maintain a high level of alertness.”

He added that the government is still conducting airport surveillance as part of its efforts to contain any further possible spread of the virus.

The whole world is on alert, as Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of the National Commission for Avian Flu, noted.

“In the northern hemisphere, the fear of a second wave comes from the fact that they are facing winter, which is when the regular flu usually spreads,” he said.

In Indonesia, the coming rainy season is a reason to be alert, as that is when cases of infection usually peak, as with avian flu, he added.

Surely, no one is expecting a return of the virus as malignant as that seen in 1918, but getting too complacent is certainly not an option.

And the possible disastrous effects of the pandemic are not all we can learn from history: Learning from the experience of handling the situation is far more valuable.

In early 1920, the Dutch colonial government issued an “Influenza Ordinance” to ensure that response and mitigation measures were carried out promptly and correctly and that any future outbreaks in the archipelago could be rapidly detected and contained, the history research team reveals.

In addition to issuing the law containing information about influenza symptoms, response and prevention measures for people and administrations across the nation, they also took into account risk communication measures by instructing the information office to spread information on pandemic influenza.

Cultural approach: In its bid to contain the 1918 flu epidemic, the Dutch authorities issued health campaigns in Javanese featuring wayang figures more familiar to locals. Courtesy of UI Flu Pandemic History Research Team

A brochure was printed to promote awareness about habits to prevent influenza infection among the public. In Java, the campaign brochure was printed in a way to suit the locals. Written in Javanese, the messages were spoken through wayang figures familiar to locals.

While experts believe that the keystone of influenza prevention is vaccination, behavioral change is no less important.

Indeed, in times of troubles like pandemics, it’s not only the response from the authority that counts. A high level of awareness among the community could potentially prevent further outbreaks.

“There should be a cultural approach to solve problems that could not be solved through medical efforts,” said Purwanta Iskandar, an anthropologist involved in the campaign for the prevention of the spread of the flu.

Currently, his team is focusing their efforts on educating children, in addition to the more general campaign aimed at the community at large.

“An educational campaign on this issue must be carried out in a creative and fun way. Children learn faster and they become the agents of change,” he explained. “For the general public, every possible means should be explored, from the traditional and religious to modern ones.”

Most recently, the Indonesian Ulema Council in Makassar published a book on the flu pandemic and its prevention, quoting related Islamic teachings.

“Changing behavior cannot be done in an instant. That’s why we believe that targeting children means investing in the future,” he added.

And perhaps, along the way, the efforts made could help prevent not only a flu pandemic, but also the long list of infectious diseases that have persisted in Indonesia for decades.


Red Cross aid

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 10/28/2009 11:39 AM


Health officials from the Red Cross and the Federation Red Crescent Society, (from left to right), Amal Chalik Sjaaf, Cecilia Anshelm, and Hannele Virtanen, inspect health equipment at a meeting in Jakarta on Tuesday. The meeting, sponsored by the Indonesian Red Cross, was attended by Red Cross representatives from 22 countries. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama


Curry spice 'kills cancer cells'


The yellow spice gives curries their bright colour

An extract found in the bright yellow curry spice turmeric can kill off cancer cells, scientists have shown.

The chemical - curcumin - has long been thought to have healing powers and is already being tested as a treatment for arthritis and even dementia.

Now tests by a team at the Cork Cancer Research Centre show it can destroy gullet cancer cells in the lab.

Cancer experts said the findings in the British Journal of Cancer could help doctors find new treatments.

Dr Sharon McKenna and her team found that curcumin started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.

'Natural' remedy

The cells also began to digest themselves, after the curcumin triggered lethal cell death signals.

Dr McKenna said: "Scientists have known for a long time that natural compounds have the potential to treat faulty cells that have become cancerous and we suspected that curcumin might have therapeutic value."

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: "This is interesting research which opens up the possibility that natural chemicals found in turmeric could be developed into new treatments for oesophageal cancer.

"Rates of oesophageal cancer rates have gone up by more than a half since the 70s and this is thought to be linked to rising rates of obesity, alcohol intake and reflux disease so finding ways to prevent this disease is important too."

Each year around 7,800 people are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in the UK. It is the sixth most common cause of cancer death and accounts for around five percent of all UK cancer deaths.


Looking Through Indonesia's History For Answers to Swine Flu

The Jakarta Globe, Emmy Fitri

Children orphaned by the 1918 flu pandemic.
(Photo courtesy of University of Indonesia’s School of History)

See Also: Vital Lessons to be Learned from 1918 Flu

“It seemed like there was a kind of toxin in the air. People fell sick so easily, went to bed and then never woke up,” an elder of South Sulawesi’s Toraja tribe said.

Another added: “Here we called it raaba biang [loosely translated as falling plants] because people got sick and died like falling bushes. Even those who buried them, they died shortly afterward. There are no official records but we were told it happened in 1918.”

The senior citizens, Tato Dena and Kun Masora didn’t experienced the raaba biang themselves, but the story of the deadly disease that swept through Toraja in 1918 has been passed on from generation to generation. Tato’s grandfather and Kun’s aunt died in the pandemic.

Tato and Kun were interviewed by Arie Rukmantara, a former bird flu communications consultant at the United Nations Children’s Fund. “There is a mass grave-like site in Sirope, Makale village, that most likely was the burial site for people who died of the flu,” Arie said. “Unless something extraordinary occurs, Torajans usually make a grave for each deceased person.”

The story of the raaba biang in Toraja was one of the findings presented by historians from the University of Indonesia last week that, the researchers said, confirmed two things: that the pandemic was not a hoax, as many skeptics have said, and that Indonesians battled the same plague that struck the Americas and Europe in 1918.

More than 500 million people worldwide were infected in the 1918 pandemic, caused by the H1N1 virus, or swine flu virus, and an estimated 50 million died, far more than those killed during World War I.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by type A influenza. Symptoms resemble those of the common flu, including sore throat, coughing and fever.

For almost a year, the historians scoured through colonial government records for anything related to a pandemic. Fortunately for them, the Dutch kept good records of their administration.

In Indonesia, about 1.5 million of the archipelago’s 30 million inhabitants died in the pandemic.

“We have found records of sporadic flu cases in Ambon [Maluku Island] in 1852 and then in West Borneo in 1860, Blora [in Central Java] in 1875, and Muara Teweh, Padang Panjang in 1890,” chief researcher Kresno Bramantyo said. “Those were Dutch military bases and most cases reported were of military personnel. Some were contained in the army camps but some spread outside and infected civilians.”

Kresno, however, could not confirm if the outbreaks that occurred in the 1800s had any relation to the 1918 flu pandemic.

The pandemic is thought to have peaked here in 1920, when the colonial administration issued the Influenza Ordinance. The ordinance demonstrated the scale of the flu outbreak, as it called for all officials, not just those in the health sector, to take measures to curb the spread of the disease, including banning infected people from leaving their houses.

Increased security checks on ships from abroad were also ordered as officials suspected that the virus was brought to the country by ship passengers.

The administration also ordered people in affected areas to hoist yellow and red flags to indicate that there were cases of the flu in their neighborhoods.

Other measures included setting up a commission to investigate the cause of the flu, and distributing quinine to fight the disease because most cases presented symptoms similar to malaria.

Records also speak of the role that dalang , or puppet masters, played in spreading word about the disease. “We found a book written in Javanese called ‘Lelara Influenza’ [‘Influenza Disease’], which chronicles the flu, researcher Harto Yuwono said. “This book seems to have been authored by the puppet masters themselves because they used wayang similes to tell about the presence of a deadly disease.”

Experts said the 1918 pandemic pushed doctors and scientists to work harder to develop treatments and to find the cause of the disease. Some mysteries, however, like how the pandemic ended, remain unsolved to this day.

The historians could not find any documents or reports mentioning the end of the pandemic. Due to the magnitude of the outbreak and the sweeping response of the colonial government, they expected that there would be papers officially declaring the pandemic over.

Cases were reported in Indonesia as late as 1930. The United States and Britain had their last reported cases in the 1920s.

“Cases were also reported in Papua, but unfortunately we have scant details from Papua. But we heard a story about how Papuan tribesmen created a dance, still danced today, to ward off the flu,” Harto said.

With the world facing another flu pandemic, the historians said they wanted to contribute “lessons from the past” in a bid to curb the spread of the new H1N1 virus. As of Tuesday, 178 countries had reported a total of 414,945 infections and 4,999 deaths. Indonesia so far has 1,097 confirmed cases and 10 fatalities, according to the Health Ministry.

“It’s time to see the pandemic from multisectoral perspectives, because it’s not just the concern of the health sector,” said Memed Zulkarnain, chief of communications at the National Commission on Avian Influenza and Pandemic Preparedness.

Memed quoted a passage from John M Barry’s book “The Greatest Influenza,” widely billed as the authoritative work on the disease: “The story of the 1918 influenza virus is not simply one of havoc, death and desolation … It is also a story of science, of discovery, of how one thinks and how one changes the way one thinks.”

Related Article:

Learning from history


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

President Hu confers Nightingale medals on laureated nurses

www.chinaview.cn , 2009-10-27 14:40:38

Hu Jintao (C), Chinese president and honorary president of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), poses with Chinese laureates of the 42nd Florence Nightingale Award during the opening ceremony of the 9th national conference of the RCSC in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 27, 2009. President Hu Jintao and other Communist Party of China (CPC) and state leaders, including Wen Jiabao, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang attended the ceremony. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)


Monday, October 26, 2009

UNICEF praises Indonesia for providing clinics for mothers, children

www.chinaview.cn 2009-10-26 16:48:11

JAKARTA, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) praised Monday the success of Indonesia's efforts in providing health clinics for mothers and children.

The UNICEF's appreciation was conveyed during the opening of the clinic, popularly called Posyandu in Indonesia, in Gresik, East Java.

"The success of Posyandu contributes to the long-term development of the country," Stephen J.W., the UNICEF representative for Indonesia and Malaysia on the sidelines of opening the clinic in Leran village, in Gresik regency.

Gresik can be the example of Indonesia's success in providing health clinics for mothers and children, becomes the reference of other regions to establish such a clinic, the Antara news agency quoted Stephen as saying.

Speaking on the occasion, Kartika Soekarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesian first president who runs the foundation that runs the clinic, said that Gresik administrator has demonstrated continuing tremendous efforts to develop such a clinic.

On the behalf of her Kartika Soekarno Foundation (KSF), she signed the MoU to run the clinic with Gresik administration.

Gresik administration has been developing mother and children clinics since 2008 when it found many children in its jurisdiction suffered from malnutrition. It allocates more funds in its budget to revitalize 80 clinics for mothers and children, Gresik regency Secretary Khusnul Khuluq said.

"We currently are developing a program that combines posyandu with the education for children in their early ages (PAUD). We see that these two programs are completing to each other and would provide benefits for our children in the future.

Previously the regency had received assistance to develop the public health clinics from Germany government through Deutsche Gesellschaft feur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) program.


Another migrant worker dies of alleged torture in Malaysia

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 10/26/2009 5:01 PM

An Indonesian migrant worker Munti Binti Bani has died on Monday after being hospitalized for several days due to alleged torture by her employees in Selangor, Malaysia.

Antara state news agency has reported that Munti had been treated at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah hospital since last Tuesday and died on Monday at 10 a.m, local time.

“We express our deep condolences as there is yet another worker who was tortured and passed away at the hospital,” Indonesia's Ambassador for Malaysia, Da'i Bachtiar said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

Munti's body will be sent tomorrow to her hometown in Pondok Jeruk Barat village of Jombang, East Java after undergoing autopsy at the hospital.

“The Embassy will arrange for all compensation, including insurance, she deserves to receive,” Da'i said.

He added that Munti's employees Vanitha and Murugan had been detained and were undergoing questioning at the local police office.

“We hope the police can uphold justice and punish them should they be proven to be involved in the case,” he said.

Munti was found unconscious with her hands and feet were tied in a bathroom in Taman Sentosa housing complex last Tuesday. She was suffering from major wounds on her body and had apparently been beaten with iron. (ewd)

Related Article:

Malaysia establishes team to investigate RI worker death


Sunday, October 25, 2009

Koran Verses Appear Mysteriously on Infant's Body

Birthmark-Like Script Appears Every Few Days on Ali Yakubov's Body

ABC News, By ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, MOSCOW, Oct. 22, 2009

Thousands of Muslim pilgrims are flocking to the home of a 9-month-old boy in Russia's southern republic of Dagestan to see the verses from the Koran that seem to appear and fade on his body every few days.

A pilgrim shows off the leg of baby Ali Yakubov at his house in Kizlyar in Russia's Dagestan Region, October 19, 2009. A "miracle" baby has brought a kind of mystical hope to people in Russia's mostly Muslim southern fringe who are increasingly desperate in the face of Islamist violence. From hunchbacked grandmas to schoolboys, hundreds of pilgrims lined up this week in blazing sunshine to get a glimpse of 9-month-old baby Ali Yakubov, on whose body they say verses from the Koran appear and fade every few days. Picture taken October 19, 2009. (Amir Amirov/Reuters)

Religious leaders in Dagestan say the verse "Be thankful or grateful to God" appeared on Ali Yakubov's right leg in Arabic script earlier this week, according to Reuters. By the time foreign journalists had arrived, the verse had faded to a single letter.

In photos, the words look like pink birthmarks a few inches high. Ali's parents told reporters at first they thought it was in fact a birthmark or a skin irritation but doctors couldn't explain it. The lettering appears on different parts of his body and shortly before a new set is about to appear, his parents say, the boy's temperature spikes to about 105 degrees.

"It's impossible to hold him, he cries, lifts that part of the body [where the verse appears], his temperature goes up to 40 degrees [Celsius], and he doesn't sleep all night," his mother told reporters.

"From a medical point of view, I can't explain it in any way," said local nurse Saida Rasulova.

To add to the mystery, Rasulova says baby Ali was born with cerebral palsy and an ischaemic heart condition (reduced blood supply to the heart muscle) but says he's now healthy.

About 2,000 pilgrims are showing up every day at the family's modest home in the town of Kizlyar where green flags line the pathway (green being the color of Islam). Local police keep order while pilgrims and Muslim leaders pray and pass around photos of the verses that previously appeared on the child.

Dagestan is a majority Muslim republic located in Russia's North Caucasus region on the border of Chechnya. The area has seen a spate of violence in recent months with security forces regularly clashing with separatist Islamist militants.

"The fact that this miracle happened here is a signal to us to take the lead and help our brothers and sisters find peace," the head of the Kizlyar region, Sagid Murtazaliyev, told reporters. "We must not forget there is a war going on here."

Miracle Baby: Sign of the Apocalypse?

A Muslim imam who visited Madina and her boy had a more apocalyptic take on situation, saying, "It is written that the closer to the end of the world, such signs will appear on a person's body."

The baby's markings have caused such a stir that the Russian Council of Muftis put out a statement calling them a warning to Muslims to "turn to the wisdom of the religion of Allah."

"[They should] repent of their sins, and abandon their discord, conflicts, and the fratricidal confrontation that today shakes the blessed land of Dagestan and the entire Caucasus," the statement read, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

Madina, who is married to a local policeman, has no doubt that her son's condition is linked to the region's troubles.

"Allah is great and he sent me my miracle child to keep our people safe," she said.





Related Article:

Qur'anic verses appear on Dagestani baby's body

Koranverzen verschijnen op lichaam baby



SWINE FLU SYMPTOMS



Source: UK NHS

Typical symptoms: sudden fever (38C or above) and sudden cough

  1. Other symptoms include: Tiredness and chills
  2. Headache, sore throat, runny nose and sneezing
  3. Stomach upset, loss of appetite, diarrhoea
  4. Aching muscles, limb or joint pain

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Thursday, October 22, 2009

New health minister denies virus-smuggling accusation

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 10/22/2009 8:40 PM

New Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih denied Thursday accusations that she had smuggled samples of the bird flu virus abroad while serving at the ministry.

Endang told reporters after her inauguration ceremony that although she was involved in research into the virus, she had never taken any samples overseas or sold it to other countries.

"That's not true. I've never taken the virus overseas; I've never sold it. I only conducted research with my colleagues. There have been no exchanges whatsoever," the Harvard graduate said in response to accusations by her predecessor Siti Fadillah Supari.

Shortly after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced Endang’s inclusion in his new Cabinet on Wednesday night, Siti held a press conference at her residence during which she accused Endang of smuggling the virus and cited the incident as the reason why Endang had been dismissed her from her position at the Health Ministry's research and development agency.

Siti, however, corrected her statement on Thursday, saying she had merely learned that Endang had taken a virus sample abroad but had not sold it, and that she only rotated Endang to another unit.

Endang’s last-minute appointment has also sparked controversy as the original candidate Nila Joewita Moeloek was dropped.

Rumors circulated that Nila was not chosen because she failed the “fit-and-proper” test due to a lobby by the tobacco industry, while Endang was chosen with backing from "foreign interests".

Former state secretary Hatta Radjasa, who was involved with the appointment process of the new Cabinet ministers, denied all the rumors, saying they were "speculative".

"[Endang's] appointment was based on a tight selection, and she deserves the post. It was through a credible process in which the President was assisted by the Vice President and a small team," said Hatta, now the coordinating minister for the economy.

Endang, too, denied allegations that her appointment was backed by foreign interests, saying the rumor was probably based on her frequent partnerships with researchers from other countries including the United States, Japan and the Netherlands.

She said as the new health minister she would most likely discontinue the Health Ministry's cooperation with the US Navy's Jakarta-based Namru lab, saying future cooperation would only be between civil institutions.

"Of course we want a partnership that will benefit Indonesia. We need their technology and knowledge, so we must be open to them. But we can't just let them take advantage of us, we must gain from the partnership too," Endang said when asked what kind of research partnership she envisioned.

She also said that over the next five years she would direct the Health Ministry to achieve its health-related Millennium Development Goals.

Endang added she would improve the implementation of a number of the ministry's programs that failed to meet expectations, such as the health insurance for the poor scheme called Jamkesmas.

Related Article:

Choice of Endang for Health Minister Revives Virus, Espionage Issues