Indonesia:Two more human bird flu cases suspected

Indonesia:Two more human bird flu cases suspected
submited by kickingbird at Sep, 18, 2005 22:33 PM from Forbes and Jakata Post

Two more Indonesian children are suspected of having been infected with bird flu as authorities closed the Jakarta zoo after 19 birds there were found to be carrying the deadly virus, officials said.

Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono said that Jakarta´s Ragunan zoo will be closed to the public through October 17, during which a complete sterilization of the area and treatment of infected animals will be completed.

Apriantono told the ElShinta private radio that 19 out of 27 samples taken from various birds at the zoo, including pigmy chickens and eagles, contained the bird flu virus.

Four other samples were inconclusive and the remaining four were negative, he said.

´Usually two weeks are enough but we decided to raise it to three weeks to make sure unwanted things would not happen,´ Apriyantono said of the closure, adding that some 2,100 birds in the zoo´s collection will be tested for the virus.

Any bird found carrying the virus would be killed if it was not from a protected species, the minister said.

Meanwhile, an acting spokesman for the health ministry, Sumardi, told the Detikcom online news service that samples from two children suspected of having bird flu have been sent for Hong Kong for further tests.

One patient is now in stable condition, hospital officials told ElShinta radio.

The government has promised tough action to counter the spread of bird flu and urged people to remain calm after the country confirmed a fourth death from the virus.

The death last week of a 37-year-old Jakarta woman from bird flu brought Indonesia´s toll level with that of Cambodia, while 43 deaths have been recorded in Vietnam and 12 in Thailand.

Ministry suspects new human bird flu case

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After recently confirming the country´s fourth bird flu fatality, the Ministry of Health reported another suspected case on Saturday.

MT, a seven-year-old girl, currently being treated at the Sulianti Saroso hospital in North Jakarta, tested positive on her blood test, but negative on the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, said Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari as quoted by news portal detik.com.

The minister nor other senior officials of the ministry could be immediately reached for confirmation.

The girl was previously treated at the Siloam Gleneagles hospital in Tangerang and was referred to Saroso on Sept. 14. The ministry was still waiting for the results of a second PCR test.

It was also investigating another suspected case, identified only as a family member of Rini Dina, the country´s most recent confirmed bird flu fatality. The relative tested positive on the blood test and is currently suffering from flu-like symptoms, such as a fever and sore throat, which are also symptoms consistent with early stages of avian influenza.

"We are taking the patient to a hospital for observation as soon as the family approves," she said.

Siti added that there was a high possibility of other suspected cases and that the public must be vigilant against the spread of the disease. She declared that the country was already in the "third stage of bird flu" and although there had not been any reports of human-to-human transfer of the virus, she added that "it is just a matter of time."

The ministry has prepared 44 hospitals nationwide to handle suspected and reported cases as well as for surveillance efforts.

It is also bringing in some 10,000 doses of bird flu medicine called Tami Flu, which is recommended by the World Health Organization. "We are negotiating with Roche, the Food and Drug Control Agency and WHO to recommend importing the medicine," Siti said.

Given to patients showing clinical symptoms of flu in the first 48 hours, Tami Flu is believed to have been able to mitigate the effects of the virus. "But, if it is given when the patient is already suffering from pneumonia-like symptoms, it will not work," she said.

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