Bird Flu Pandemic Readiness Tested

Indonesia began a major bird flu simulation Friday that was to end on Sunday to test the county’s preparedness for a potentially catastrophic pandemic.

According to a report from The Associated Press, about 1,000 government, health and law enforcement officials were at the three-day event in Bali to consider how to contain a possible widespread outbreak of the often-lethal disease.

The drill began with the isolation of a village where a field hospital was set up to treat people with flu-like symptoms. At the closing on Sunday, officials will try to prevent "infected" travelers from leaving the international airport and spreading the virus to other countries.

"This is the only exercise in the world (of its kind) that has ever taken place," said Subhash Salunke, the World Health Organization's top official in Indonesia. "This will certainly help prepare Indonesia in the event of a pandemic."