Residents worry over reports of bird flu

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fears of contracting bird flu prompted residents of Petukangan Utara neighborhood in South Jakarta to rush to a temporary health center on Monday to have a blood sample taken.

Men, women, old and young alike fell in line to wait their turn to have their blood taken by officials from the Ministry of Health and the Jakarta Health Agency.

"I met with the woman who died several times so I must have my blood tested. I am afraid that the virus has infected me too. And just as a precautionary measure, I have asked my daughter to have her blood tested too," Aisyah, one of the residents, told The Jakarta Post after her blood sample was taken.

A 37-year old woman living in the neighborhood died at 8:55 p.m. on Saturday in Bintaro International Hospital after being treated since Sept. 6.

According to the hospital, which was later confirmed by the Ministry of Health, the woman died of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu.

Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari said that a sample of the woman's blood had been sent to a laboratory in Hong Kong to ascertain whether or not she died because of bird flu.

Head of the disease evaluation section at the Ministry of Health Tato Suharto said that his office and the Jakarta Health Agency took blood samples of all the people who came in contact with the dead woman.

"We require residents to come to have their blood taken if they think they had come in contact with the woman. We have to take blood samples from over 30 people today. We will also make residents aware of the virus," he told the Post.

Meanwhile, a resident identified as Rustini, 29, said that her two-month-old baby died eight days ago because of lung problems.

"His name was Livo. He had a cough and respiratory problems. A specialist said that he had pneumonia," Rustini, who stays in the upper story of a slaughter house told the Post just before her blood was taken.

Tato said his officials would examine Rustini, her husband Badru and their children to decide whether the baby died because of bird flu or not.

"The symptoms are similar to those found in people suffering from bird flu. However, we can't draw any conclusion yet because a further laboratory test is needed," he said.

Tato said that officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Jakarta Animal Husbandry Agency had also come to check the chickens and the condition of animals in the neighborhood.

A chicken slaughter house owned by Yusuf is located around 100 meters away from the dead woman's house, while a small slaughter house belonged to Sarmidi is also located nearby.

Jakarta Animal Husbandry Agency head Adnan Ahmad said they had taken samples of chicken from seven small chicken farms in the neighborhood.

He, however, said that they would not be closed down as it was too early to say whether or not the chickens were infected by avian influenza.

"We don't know if the virus came from the chickens as we must wait for the test result," Adnan said.