Govt confirms new human bird flu case in Bandung

Tb, Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A 16-year-old boy has been confirmed as the country's 12th human bird flu case, as the government said Indonesia was ready to start producing the antiviral drug Tamiflu within three to five months to help fight the disease.

Health ministry official Hariadi Wibisono was quoted by AFP as saying that the condition of the boy, who was admitted to the state hospital in West Java's provincial capital Bandung on Nov. 15, was good but he was infected.

"Tests (on blood) taken from the 16-year-old boy, both locally and by the World Health Organization (WHO), show that he is a bird flu patient," he said.

"We have received news that his condition is quite good and it is hoped that he can survive," he added.

Seven fatalities from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza have been confirmed in Indonesia by the WHO, but more than a dozen suspected bird flu deaths have been reported.

Health officials are waiting for WHO confirmation of local tests which showed that a 35-year-old man who died Nov. 19 was the country's eighth fatality.

Four other Indonesians have been confirmed as carrying the virus but have either recovered or are still receiving treatment.

Meanwhile, health minister Siti Fadilah Supari said on Saturday that the mass production of Tamiflu in the country would start in three to five months.

The minister said the government would appoint state-owned pharmaceutical companies to make Tamiflu under the generic name oseltamivir phosphate.

"It could be Kimia Farma or Indofarma," she said.

Siti said Indonesia had obtained permission from the distributor of Tamiflu, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche AG, which holds the patent for production, to produce the drug only for the domestic market.

The government will produce about 20 million Tamiflu tablets, she added. "The drug will only be produced according to our needs or a minimum of 10 percent of the country's population (of around 220 million people)."

"At present, we have 800,000 tablets provided by donor countries such as Australia, Japan and Singapore," Siti said.

Siti said her office had discussed with India, China and South Korea the possible provision of raw materials for Tamiflu production here.

"We'll get confirmation from them within two days," she added.

The money to produce the drug would be allocated from the 2006 state budget, as well as coming from donor countries, the minister said.

"It's a testament of our seriousness in fighting bird flu. We do not want Indonesia to become the world's source of bird flu," Siti said.

Kimia Farma president director Gunawan Pranoto said his company was ready to produce Tamiflu, should it be appointed by the government.