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Indonesian Woman Dies of Bird Flu, Cluster Feared
Contributed by Tom Harrison| 20 August, 2006 19:06 GMT
Confirmation that a 35-year-old Indonesia woman who died last week was infected with the H5N1 virus has stoked concern that a new bird flu cluster case may have emerged in the country. Tests have confirmed that an a 35-year-old Indonesian woman, Euis Lina, died last week of bird flu, health officials have announced. H5N1 infections in twelve other residents of the Cikelet subdistrict of West Java are confirmed or suspected, according to numerous press reports.Two weeks ago, Lina's nine-year-old daughter died after becoming ill with similar symptoms, but authorities have not confirmed bird flu in her case.
Health officials are monitoring Cikelet for any signs that the disease might be spreading from person to person, a situation that could spark a pandemic. Clusters of cases heighten that possibility.
The situation is especially worrisome because of Cikelet's location about 90 miles from Jakarta -- the largest city in Indonesia, with a population close to 9 million.
Seven members of a Sumatra Island family died of the H5N1 virus in May. That was the largest known cluster case to date. Although limited human-to-human transmission probably took place in that case, the World Health Organization concluded that the disease did not spread beyond that family group.
At this point, officials believe that the infected individuals in Cikelet contracted the virus from sick birds -- H5N1 is known to be endemic among poultry in the region.
Lina's death brings the total number of bird flu fatalities in Indonesia to 46 -- 34 of them having occurred this year. The country has been hit harder by the disease than any other in the world, with millions of birds -- mostly chickens and ducks -- known to be infected with the virus.
Bird flu has killed at least 141 people worldwide since late 2003. After Indonesia, Vietnam has been worst-affected, with 42 deaths. However, no case has emerged in Vietnam this year, according to the WHO.
The Indonesian government claims it is doing everything possible to combat bird flu in Cikelet by slaughtering poultry there and distributing antiviral drugs to villagers for free. However, it says it cannot afford to mount a campaign of widespread slaughter of poultry in the country.
While criticism mounts that Indonesia is not doing enough to prevent a pandemic from starting there, government officials have complained that the international community has not contributed to the effort.
Contributed by Tom Harrison| 20 August, 2006 19:06 GMT
Confirmation that a 35-year-old Indonesia woman who died last week was infected with the H5N1 virus has stoked concern that a new bird flu cluster case may have emerged in the country. Tests have confirmed that an a 35-year-old Indonesian woman, Euis Lina, died last week of bird flu, health officials have announced. H5N1 infections in twelve other residents of the Cikelet subdistrict of West Java are confirmed or suspected, according to numerous press reports.Two weeks ago, Lina's nine-year-old daughter died after becoming ill with similar symptoms, but authorities have not confirmed bird flu in her case.
Health officials are monitoring Cikelet for any signs that the disease might be spreading from person to person, a situation that could spark a pandemic. Clusters of cases heighten that possibility.
The situation is especially worrisome because of Cikelet's location about 90 miles from Jakarta -- the largest city in Indonesia, with a population close to 9 million.
Seven members of a Sumatra Island family died of the H5N1 virus in May. That was the largest known cluster case to date. Although limited human-to-human transmission probably took place in that case, the World Health Organization concluded that the disease did not spread beyond that family group.
At this point, officials believe that the infected individuals in Cikelet contracted the virus from sick birds -- H5N1 is known to be endemic among poultry in the region.
Lina's death brings the total number of bird flu fatalities in Indonesia to 46 -- 34 of them having occurred this year. The country has been hit harder by the disease than any other in the world, with millions of birds -- mostly chickens and ducks -- known to be infected with the virus.
Bird flu has killed at least 141 people worldwide since late 2003. After Indonesia, Vietnam has been worst-affected, with 42 deaths. However, no case has emerged in Vietnam this year, according to the WHO.
The Indonesian government claims it is doing everything possible to combat bird flu in Cikelet by slaughtering poultry there and distributing antiviral drugs to villagers for free. However, it says it cannot afford to mount a campaign of widespread slaughter of poultry in the country.
While criticism mounts that Indonesia is not doing enough to prevent a pandemic from starting there, government officials have complained that the international community has not contributed to the effort.
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