Bird flu source probe ends, case unsolved

Bird flu source probe ends, case unsolved

Agencies, Jakarta

Indonesia's search for the source of the bird flu virus that killed three people near its densely populated capital has ended in failure, the health minister said on Wednesday.

Health experts said they could not pinpoint the source and decided to end the investigation into how a man and his two young daughters contracted the deadly H5N1 strain last month, Reuters reported.

They were the country's first human casualties of the virus. "After lengthy research, we've decided to cease the investigation," Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari told reporters.

"With our knowledge and research, we have tried very hard to link the deaths of the family with every possibility."

Experts had said locating the source of the infection would be key to preventing further deaths.

But in the world's fourth most populous country, a sprawling archipelago dotted with small farms where even many urban families keep chickens, pinpointing the source was always going to be difficult.

Siti said there were no fresh human cases reported after authorities tested more than 300 people who had contact with the family. She also said tests on several people, including a news photographer, who had been under close observation for bird flu, were negative.

"The ministry will increase alertness through surveillance, monitoring and technical preparations such as hospitals and ports," said Siti.

Indonesia has prepared 44 hospitals across the country for the treatment of possible outbreaks.

A lack of funds to compensate farmers has seen Indonesia vaccinate healthy animals in affected areas rather than use mass culling -- a method recommended by the World Health Organization. Bird flu recently killed another person in Vietnam, taking the number of deaths in Asia to 62.

The Associated Press meanwhile reported that the avian flu outbreak in Indonesia has so far been contained.

"Whatever the cause of this outbreak, it has passed and there was no further transmission," said Steven Bjorge, a WHO technical officer. "It's reassuring in the sense we don't have a broadening outbreak ... But there is a continued threat as long as there are outbreaks in poultry."

The ministry also declared safe the area of Tangerang, Banten province, where the victims of the virus lived. It was earlier declared as a "red zone", drawing criticism from local authorities. "We don't know where (the victims) got the virus so I can say Tangerang is safe," the minister said.