16 May 2007

WHO can now confirm 15 additional cases, including 13 deaths of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza that occurred in Indonesia from the end of January 2007 up to the present and has updated its table of confirmed human cases accordingly.

Testing for H5N1 influenza virus infections is not done routinely by many laboratories and among the laboratories that do test for H5N1, experience and levels of diagnostic capacities can vary. (see WHO criteria) WHO had previously required external confirmation of laboratory results from Indonesia, but following a formal on-site assessment of the capacity of national laboratory in Jakarta to diagnose H5 avian influenza viruses, WHO will now accept the results from the national laboratory, in collaboration with the Eijkman Institute without further external confirmation.

The assessment was carried out by a WHO team of virologists and laboratory scientists from the WHO Collaborating Centre in Tokyo, Japan, the national influenza centres of India and Thailand, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and the WHO Country Office of Indonesia.

The following additional cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza have been confirmed. Seven of these cases had exposure to sick or dead poultry; the source of infection is unknown for eight cases.