Humans fowls tested for bird flu
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Denpasar
A joint government team conducted on Friday tests on the family of a girl who recently died after showing symptoms of bird flu.
The move came as veterinary students participating in a nationwide surveillance program to detect the H5N1 virus in birds collected more than 18,000 samples on the resort island of Bali.
A team of health workers took blood samples from the family of 16-year-old Siti Sarah in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta, who died on Nov. 8 in Agung Hospital in Manggarai, South Jakarta.
"Initially, the family refused to undergo tests, but finally they consented to the examination on Friday morning by a joint team comprising officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and the Jakarta health and agriculture agencies," Ministry of Health spokesman Suprijadi said.
He said 39 specimens from people who had been in close contact with Siti had been taken from Agung Hospital to the health ministry's laboratory.
Meanwhile, four more patients with bird flu symptoms were admitted to the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in North Jakarta. They are residents of Tangerang, Banten.
The new patients bring the number of people hospitalized for suspected bird flu infection to 48 across the country. The hospitals are located in Jakarta (18), Banten (15), West Java (6), Yogyakarta (1), East Java (1), East Kalimantan (1), South Sulawesi (2) and Lampung (4).
The virus has infected nine people in Indonesia, five of whom are dead.
In Bali's Sanglah General Hospital, officials said they are treating a two-month-old baby, who was admitted on Thursday with avian influenza symptoms.
The hospital confirmed on Friday that the baby, identified by the initials AMS, was suffering from pneumonia and tested negative for bird flu.
Ken Wirasandhi of the hospital's public service unit said however doctors had sent samples, including of the baby's blood, to Jakarta for verification.
Bali, which has so far reported no bird flu infections in humans, welcomed on Friday the surveillance effort.
The program, which kicked off on Friday, is aimed at collecting and analyzing samples taken from over 18,000 poultry across Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.
"This is just an official ceremony, as the program has been underway since Monday," team coordinator Ngurah Mahardika said.
Takmung village in Klungkung regency, some 40 kilometers east of Denpasar, was chosen as the venue for the ceremony due to its brush with bird flu early in 2004.
The outbreak paralyzed the village's economy.
"I lost over 1,600 chickens, it was a very difficult time. Many farmers went bankrupt and the frustrated ones simply stopped farming," local farmer I Wayan Supartha recalled.
The surveillance program involves 40 professors and 80 students of Udayana University's school of veterinary science.
The collection of samples will continue until Dec. 15 in 154 villages across Bali and 31 villages in West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara. Blood and feces samples will be taken from domestic chickens and ducks, and also from wild, migratory bird populations.