Test finds S. Jakarta man died of bird flu
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.