Possible Indonesia cases probed
Possible Indonesia cases probed
Possible Indonesia cases probed
OXFORD, England (UPI) -- Indonesia Wednesday announced the possible emergence of eight cases of avian-influenza infection in humans.
Following an outbreak in poultry, eight people on Indonesia`s Sulawesi Island have been tested for avian-influenza infection, but results have not yet been confirmed.
Indonesian health officials were quick to stress that the tests were not a cause for concern.
'There are a lot of outbreaks in birds around the country,' World Health Organization representative in Indonesia, Georg Petersen, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
'As long as we have a situation where the virus is endemic in the bird population, we will expect to see cases. Every human case is another opportunity for the development of a new virus.'
Jakarta`s Sulianti Saroso hospital is currently treating four confirmed cases of avian-influenza infection. Four suspected cases were released last week after additional tests showed they were not infected with H5N1.
Meanwhile:
-- The human death toll stands at 103, according to the World Health Organization. Reports of five deaths in Azerbaijan since February put the total over 100.
The WHO mission in Azerbaijan Wednesday announced that despite the deaths, the country`s outbreak appeared to be under control, with no new reported infections.
Dick Thompson, WHO spokesman, was quoted by BakuToday as saying:
'We were looking for other signs that this could be human-to-human transmission -- other people, close contacts, other family members, people living in the house of one of the victims, the possibility of health care workers becoming sick. We didn`t see any of that.'
--
The family of a young child who died of avian influenza in an Indonesian hospital Sunday intends to sue the hospital for negligence.
The Jakarta Post reported Wednesday that family members had seen medical staff -- including doctors and nurses -- run around panicking after the pressure dropped on the 5-year-old boy`s ventilator.
'The nurses and a doctor were in such a panic, but they did nothing and, finally, my nephew died,' Heri Haman, the boy`s uncle, told the Jakarta Post.
A doctor who wished to remain anonymous at Sulianti Saroso hospital in Jakarta supported the uncle`s claim of negligence as a factor. 'The equipment was fine and the concentration of oxygen was adequate. There are two supply systems in the oxygen center. If one system cannot supply enough oxygen, a staff member must manually switch supply lines. In this case, nobody was there to do that.
'We don`t know if the patient died because of the disease itself or the negligence of the hospital. However, with the boy`s death, we have reason to believe that several of them (the 11 bird flu deaths at the hospital since July 2005) died because of negligence.'
-- Palestinian officials announced Wednesday that avian influenza has spread to the Gaza Strip.
Few details of the outbreak are known, other than it is believed to have occurred close to the Israeli border.
The Palestinian Authority had declared a state of emergency Tuesday in order to prevent an outbreak of the virus, which has recently struck a number of its neighbors.
-- Following reports at the beginning of the week that a Gaza City imam was praising Allah for the avian-flu outbreaks in Israel come Wednesday`s announcement that an Israeli rabbi has blamed the outbreaks on calls for the legalization of gay marriage in the country.
'The Bible says God punishes depravity first through plagues against animals and then in people,' Rabbi David Basri was quoted as saying by South Africa`s Independent Online.
The avian-flu outbreaks were a result of 'strengthening and encouraging homosexuality,' typified by the left-wing parties` campaign advertisements, some of which openly call for the legalization of gay marriage, and one which showed two brides kissing.
--
Afghanistan Wednesday began the widespread culling of birds in infected areas, in the first such attempt since the presence of avian flu was confirmed last week.
Lack of equipment and protective clothing prevented the culls from beginning as quickly as hoped, but following donations from the U.S. Army, protective measures are now being put into place.
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