Fifth human bird flu death confirmed, infections rise to nine
Fifth human bird flu death confirmed, infections rise to nine
Agencies, Jakarta
Two more cases of bird flu, including a 19-year-old woman who
died in October, were confirmed on Saturday, bringing the total
number of human infections in the country to nine.
Senior official at the Ministry of Health, Hariadi Wibisono,
told Reuters on Saturday that the woman's nephew, who was being
treated in a Jakarta hospital, had also tested positive for the
disease.
He said a Hong Kong laboratory confirmed that both victims had
bird flu, but it was not immediately clear how the young boy
contracted the disease.
Her death, he added, brings the number of people killed by the
disease in the country to five.
Hariadi said the woman and the boy lived in the same house in
Tangerang, about 40 kilometers southwest of Jakarta and was the
site of the country's first confirmed human deaths from avian
influenza in July, but it did not mean the virus had mutated and
jumped from one to the other.
"No, we cannot confirm that. Both of them got ill because of
dead chickens in their house ... But we are still investigating
these cases," he said, adding that the ministry was awaiting
further test results from Hong Kong that might shed light on how
the disease was transmitted.
Tests on another two children who were in hospital with bird
flu-like symptoms had come back negative, while a similar case
involving a nurse was still under investigation, Hariadi said,
adding that the eight-year-old boy confirmed with the disease "is
in a good condition".
Ilham Patu, spokesman for Jakarta's Sulianti Saroso hospital
where the nurse with flu-like symptoms was being treated, said
the nurse also came from the Tangerang area.
"The initial test from the health ministry laboratory is
negative," he said, but added that further testing was being done
in Indonesia and Hong Kong.
The flu's H5N1 virus has infected at least 123 people in Asia
and killed 63, giving a known mortality rate of more than 50
percent. Most cases have been blamed on direct or indirect
contact with infected chickens. But scientists fear the virus
will mutate into a form that passes easily between humans. In
that case, millions could die and national economies could be
crippled.
Meanwhile, the World Bank said it was finalizing plans to
provide up to US$500 million to help poor countries fight bird
flu, as new cases were reported in China and Vietnam.
The plan comes as the bank prepares to take part in an
international conference in Geneva next week to discuss managing
bird flu outbreaks, as well as plans to cope with a possible
human flu pandemic.
The World Bank funding package could be used by low-income
countries to "supplement government resources, to strengthen the
veterinary systems and to put in place culling and vaccine
programs for animals," Jim Adams, the World Bank's vice president
for operations policy and country services, was quoted by AP.
Between $300 million and $500 million is being considered, the
World Bank said on Friday.
The World Health Organization urged governments on Saturday to
offer compensation to farmers who lose their poultry to bird flu,
warning that many were reluctant to report sick birds through
fear of losing their income.
"We have to ask farmers, particularly rural farmers, to report
any unusual deaths of chickens," WHO western Pacific regional
director Shigeru Omi told reporters in Hong Kong.