Bird flu suspected in woman's death<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A woman has died of suspected avian influenza, as the government
\nis preparing new measures to contain the virus which has killed
\nthree people in the country.<\/p>\n
Director General of Contagious Diseases and Environmental
\nHealth Control I Nyoman Kandun said on Sunday the blood sample of
\nthe woman, aged 37, would be sent to a WHO-sanctioned laboratory
\nin Hong Kong to confirm whether she died of avian influenza,
\notherwise known as bird flu.<\/p>\n
The procedure will last six days.<\/p>\n
"We are waiting for confirmation as to whether she was killed
\nby the virus," Kandun said as quoted by Antara after a meeting
\nwith Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari and WHO officials
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Kandun would not disclose the results of the unscheduled
\nmeeting, but said the minister would provide the details in a
\nmedia conference on Monday.<\/p>\n
The woman, identified only by her initials as RD, died on
\nSaturday of acute pneumonia at Bintaro Hospital in Tangerang,
\nBanten.<\/p>\n
Medical workers at the hospital said she was already in a
\nserious condition when she was admitted there on Tuesday. Her
\nbody has been sent to Semarang in Central Java for burial.<\/p>\n
"The symptoms are similar to those found in Iwan and his
\nchildren," Kandun said.<\/p>\n
Kandun was referring to State Audit Agency employee Iwan
\nSiswara and his two daughters who died in July. They were the
\nfirst fatalities due to the virus in the country. An
\ninvestigation found that Iwan had contracted the virus from a
\npig.<\/p>\n
The government will send a joint team of health ministry and
\nagriculture ministry officials, with assistance from WHO experts,
\nto RD's neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Siti said her office and the agriculture ministry would
\nintensify coordination to contain the spread of the deadly H5N1
\nstrain of avian influenza, which has so far killed 62 people in
\nAsia.<\/p>\n
"According to WHO, all poultry located in the radius of three
\nkilometers from where an outbreak occurs must be culled," Siti
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Many farmers, she added, did not wish to slaughter their
\npoultry despite indications of infection.<\/p>\n
"So don't lay the blame on the government alone," she said.<\/p>\n
She called on the public to remain calm. She also said there
\nwas no case of human-to-human transmission of the virus in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The government has launched a massive vaccination drive
\nagainst the disease.<\/p>\n
Despite the WHO recommendation, the government conducted only
\na minor cull in Legok area in Tangerang, following the death of
\nIwan and his two children. Only 31 pigs and 40 ducks confirmed to
\nbe infected with avian influenza were slaughtered.<\/p>\n
The government cited a lack of funds to compensate farmers as
\nthe reason for its failure to follow WHO advice.<\/p>\n
WHO officials have warned that the virus could mutate and mix
\nwith human influenza, creating a deadly, easily transmittable,
\npandemic strain that could kill millions of people, following the
\ndeaths due to the H5N1 strain in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The virus has spread to 21 Indonesian provinces out of 33
\nsince late 2003, killing more than 9.5 million poultry.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bird-flu-suspected-in-womans-death-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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