Test finds S. Jakarta man died of bird flu

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A 39-year-old man, who died at the Sulianti Saroso Hospital in North Jakarta on Tuesday evening, was confirmed by local medical sources to have been infected by the avian influenza virus.

Spokesman and head of the bird flu surveillance unit of the Sulianti Saroso Hospital, Ilham Patu, said that tests by the Ministry of Health's laboratory suggested that the man, who lived in Kemang Timur, Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta, was infected by the bird flu virus.

"Several tests at the ministry's laboratory confirmed that he died from bird flu. During our treatment, he also showed symptoms of bird flu. However, we will wait for the WHO-sanctioned laboratory to confirm his status," he told The Jakarta Post.

If confirmed, the man would be the 10th fatality from avian influenza in Indonesia, while an eight-year-old boy who died on Thursday was suspected of being the country's 11th victim.

To date, there have been 14 confirmed human bird flu cases in Indonesia, with nine deaths.

The man, who worked as a security guard at one of the city's prestigious housing complexes in Kemang, South Jakarta, died on Tuesday evening, a day after being transferred to Sulianti Saroso from a hospital in Cilandak, South Jakarta.

Ilham said that the man had presented with bird flu symptoms, including acute pneumonia and high body temperature.

The Ministry of Health killed ten doves and several chickens living in the man's neighborhood after they tested positive to the virus, while blood samples were taken from relatives and neighbors to see if they had contracted the disease.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, and Maritime Affairs Agency found over a dozen of birds infected by bird flu virus in two subdistricts in South Jakarta during surveillance tests over the weekend.

A senior official at the agency Adnan Ahmad said on Thursday that at least two birds tested positive to bird flu in Karet Kuningan, and 10 others in Pasangrahan, both in South Jakarta.

"We concentrated on testing birds in several areas in South Jakarta, while next week we will perform tests in several locations in Central Jakarta. Next targets will be North, East, and West Jakarta. We will prioritize places where many birds are kept," he told the Post.

He said that test results showed that infected birds were found in all five municipalities in Jakarta.

Earlier, dozens of infected birds were also found in 10 subdistricts in Jakarta.

The agency found dozens of infected birds in Ceger, Utan Kayu, Pondok Kelapa, Cipinang Melayu, Kampung Makassar all in East Jakarta, while several other infected birds were found in Sunter Jaya, North Jakarta, and Kapuk, West Jakarta.

They also found infected birds in Menteng, Pegangsaan, and Petojo, all in Central Jakarta.

All of the people who died from bird flu were suspected to have been infected by the virus by birds and chickens in their neighborhoods.