Bird flu death toll climbs to seven<\/p>\n
Agencies
\nJakarta\/Bandung<\/p>\n
A Hong Kong laboratory has confirmed the deaths of two more
\npeople in Jakarta from bird flu, bringing the total to seven,
\nhealth authorities say.<\/p>\n
The admittance of at least two other people showing symptoms
\nof the deadly virus was also reported here on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for Jakarta's Sulianti Saroso hospital Ilham Patu
\nsaid the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed late on
\nWednesday that two women who died in the last few weeks were
\ninfected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.<\/p>\n
\"We received confirmation from WHO last night that two more
\ndeaths have been confirmed as due to bird flu,\" Patu said.
\nHe said the two latest cases were of females aged 16 and 20 but
\ngave no other details.<\/p>\n
He earlier said however that samples from a teenager
\nidentified as Sarah, 16 -- who died at a private hospital in
\nSouth Jakarta on Nov. 8 with symptoms of bird flu -- were being
\ntested by WHO laboratories in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
A recent arrival in Jakarta, a woman from Purwokerto in
\nCentral Java, also died last Saturday after being hospitalized
\nwith suspected bird flu, he said, adding tests results on her
\nwould soon be made available.<\/p>\n
Patu said a second woman, who was suffering bird flu symptoms
\nand had been in close contact with poultry, was transferred to
\nthe hospital, the main center for treatment of the virus here,
\nfrom another in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Another patient, a 16-year-old boy, is being treated at Hasan
\nSadikin General Hospital in Bandung, West Java.<\/p>\n
Hadi Yusuf, head of the hospital's division designated to
\ntreat bird flu cases, said on Thursday the boy, identified only
\nby his initials as ET from Cikahuripan in the West Java town of
\nSumedang, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
ET was transferred on Friday to an isolation room after
\nshowing bird flu symptoms, he added.<\/p>\n
Four other people here have tested positive for the H5N1
\nstrain of avian influenza.<\/p>\n
Toto, a doctor at the National Coordination Center for Bird
\nFlu, said that as of Wednesday 17 people were being treated as
\npossible bird flu cases across hospitals on Java island, while
\none other was being monitored in Bali.<\/p>\n
More than 60 people have died in East Asia from the virus
\nsince 2003.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was criticized for moving too slowly when bird flu
\nfirst appeared in poultry stocks two years ago, but has promised
\nin recent days to step up the fight.<\/p>\n
But senior Ministry of Health official Hariadi Wibisono said
\non Thursday the government needed help.<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made fighting bird flu
\none of the government's top priorities.<\/p>\n
On Monday he outlined measures to tackle the virus that
\nincluded seeking licenses to make antiviral drugs as well as
\nreviewing the budget to see if more funds could be allocated.<\/p>\n
However, the government has rejected calls to slaughter all
\npoultry in bird-flu infected areas -- which experts claim is the
\nbest way to contain the virus' spread, saying it cannot afford to
\ncompensate farmers.<\/p>\n
The European Union, WHO and the UN Food and Agriculture
\nOrganization have pledged assistance.<\/p>\n
\"We have many international commitments, but we need immediate
\nrealization,\" Wibisono said. \"We have the health workers, what we
\nurgently need is the equipment and capacity building.\"<\/p>\n
A senior World Bank official, meanwhile, said Indonesia was
\nbehind regional neighbors in addressing the H5N1 virus.<\/p>\n
\"Some (Asian) countries that have been very aggressive with
\nculling and (poultry farmer) compensation have a better handle on
\nthe situation,\" said Homi Kharas, the bank's East Asia and
\nPacific Region's chief economist.<\/p>\n
Scientists warn that continued contact between infected birds
\nand humans might eventually result in the virus mutating into a
\nform that could rapidly spread among people, sparking a pandemic
\nthat could kill millions. (Additional reporting by The Jakarta
\nPost's Yuli Tri Suwarni)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bird-flu-death-toll-climbs-to-seven-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}