Bird Flu Center

Indonesia recorded its 101st human bird flu death on Wednesday, the last in a series of events that marks the spread of the disease through the Asian continent. The latest victim is a 32-year-old man whose source of infection is not yet known.

Tibet is facing its own virus problem, as a poultry farm was shut down and quarantined, following an outbreak of the virus which killed 1,000 birds. Another 13,000 poultry were culled in an attempt to stop the spreading of the highly contagious virus.

India, meanwhile, reports the spreading of the H5N1 bird flu virus to three district of the West Bengal state, where a massive poultry culling campaign has been initiated, leading to the killing of more than 129,000 birds. The good news so far is that no cases of human infection have been reported yet.

A 17 year old woman is the latest reported human victim in Indonesia’s continuous battle against bird flu. The country’s Health Ministry says the victim died on Tuesday in Tangerang, just west of Jakarta. Earlier the same week, another bird flu victim succumbed to the disease, as a woman residing on the island of Bali became the island’s first human victim of avian influenza. With 83 officially recorded human deaths of bird flu, Indonesia is still the country most affected by the illness.

The death of a young Indonesian boy marked the 81st victim in the fight against bird flu in the Asian country over the weekend. The boy was living in a city located in West Java’s Banten province and according to reports he died on Sunday in one of the biggest hospitals in the country’s capital, Jakarta.

Health officials say that the victim had displayed regular symptoms of bird flu on July 1st, being admitted in hospital four days later. Further tests confirmed the initial diagnostic, but it is yet uncertain how the boy contracted the virus initially. Indonesian authorities have been alerted by a new wave of avian flu infections and a new ban on backyard poultry farms has been placed in the case of nine provinces.

Indonesia has once again started to share its samples of bird flu collected from its victims with the World Health Organization. However, a condition has been imposed that in the future developing countries will share equal access to an affordable vaccine, when it is developed. Indonesian authorities had drawn heavy criticism just weeks ago when they announced that samples would no longer be shared with WHO. Several countries are trying to develop an effective vaccine for the disease and some claim that a new substance could be available as early as May.

Indonesia has announced that a 6 year old is the latest person to fall victim to the bird flu virus in the Asian country. That brings the number of human cases recorded in the country this month to five. Regular outbreaks of H5N1 are reported in countries such as China, Egypt, Indonesia and Thailand, places where humans have always lived near domestic animals and where poultry is raised on a large scale in backyards. 269 people from 10 countries have been known to be infected with the virus since it was first discovered in 2003.

The fifth person to have died in Indonesia in the past two weeks from the dangerous bird flu virus has prompted authorities to launch a new campaign against the raise of backyard chickens. Residents are now urged to sell or even give up their poultry. The virus is once again causing havoc around the country and the latest victim is a 19 year old woman from the town of Garut. The total death toll in Indonesia has now gone up to 62. Meanwhile, officials in South Korea are planning their own campaign designed to slaughter thousands of birds and isolate the disease.

Just hours after confirming the country’s 54th bird flu death, Indonesian officials have reported the case of a 27 year old woman who has also succumbed to the deadly virus. Tests carried out by two independent laboratories have confirmed the third case of its kind in only three days, bringing Indonesia’s death toll to a staggering number of 55 human victims, the highest in the world. The woman in question lived in the Central Java province and is reported to have died on Friday, after being suspected of an infection with the bird flu virus earlier this month. The source of the infection is still unclear. Other two victims were reported last weekend, with a young boy and a 67 year old woman both contracting the disease after coming into contact with sickened poultry.

A 67 year old woman from Indonesia that had been treated in a hospital for the last week, died as a result of an infection with a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza virus. She is now the country’s 54th human victim, out of 71 confirmed infections. The virus was very aggressive in her case, as doctors report and the patient died on Sunday night. The virus strain identified in this case is the highly pathogenic H5N1 and hospital officials say that the disease had also affected the woman’s kidneys. Indonesia has now long been the world’s most affected country by bird flu, but authorities are still reluctant to use mass culling as a way of containing the disease.

A 67 year old woman living in Indonesia’s West Java province is the country’s latest bird flu victim. She was tested positive for the disease on Wednesday and has also been diagnosed with encephalitis. This could make her the first Indonesian victim to suffer brain inflammation as a result of the avian influenza virus. The woman is treated at Hasan Sadikin hospital in Bandung, where she has been placed in isolation. It is believed she contracted the disease from her chickens, which died just days before she was admitted to hospital.

A 21 year old woman living in the Tulung Agung district of East Java has become Indonesia’s 69th case of human infection with the avian influenza H5N1 virus. The announcement was made on Thursday by the director of Animal Disease and Health Control, Nyoman Kandunsaid. The woman has presented flu like symptoms since September 19th and was hospitalized 6 days later. It is believed that her contacts with diseased fowls led to the infection. Furthermore, she is the sister of another confirmed case of bird flu, as an 11 year old boy from the same family fell ill and eventually died on September 18th. 52 out of the 68 cases recorded in Indonesia so far have been deadly, making this the world’s hardest hit country by the disease.

The sister of a boy that had previously died of bird flu earlier this month has now tested positive for the H5N1 virus. She is believed to have contracted the disease after coming into contact with sick and dead birds, as her brother. The 21 year old woman is now being treated at a hospital in the East Java province. Official laboratory testing have confirmed the initial diagnosis on the patient and the case is now worrying as it might signal a possible cluster in the woman’s family (a transmission of the virus from person to person). The woman is suffering from pneumonia as well and although her condition is stable at the moment, her state has not recorded a significant improvement, with the patient still being assisted by a respirator. Although so far human infections with the avian influenza virus were due mainly to direct contact with birds, cases such as this one raise fears that the virus has mutated to a form that can be passed on from person to person.

A 20 year old man living in Indonesia’s West Java province was hospitalized on Tuesday with typical bird flu symptoms and was later tested positive for the virus. It is the country’s 67 bird flu human case, with 51 deaths recorded so far, 40 of which occurred this year alone. The central laboratory in Jakarta confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus in samples taken from the man. More worrying is that the case might be one that signals the discovery of a cluster in the man’s family. His 23 year old brother died only days ago with similar flu symptoms, but he was not taken to hospital for testing prior to his death. Also, the two men’s sister, aged 15, was also hospitalized this week after developping high fever and cough. This indicates a possible common source of infection for all the family members, although the possibility exists that the virus had been passed on from one person to another. The man is being treated in an isolation room in the hospital, but his condition is still to improve.

An Indonesian boy aged 9 has succumbed the avian influenza virus, becoming the country’s 51st victim, an official of the health ministry confirmed on Sunday. The death was recorded on Friday in a hospital in the capital city Jakarta, as Runizar Ruesin, the head of the center, told a press agency. This comes only days after another bird flu victim was documented in the East Java province and will again provide reasons for concern for the international community regarding Indonesia’s capability of containing the disease.

An 11 year old boy that died on Monday has become Indonesia’s 50th avian influenza victim, as it was confirmed that he had been infected with the H5N1 virus. This number is the highest in the world, as the country has long surpassed Vietnam as the world’s worst affected state by the disease. The boy lived in the densely populated East Java province and had previously had contact with diseased poultry. Later on, he developed fever, cough and breathing difficulties, before eventually succumbing to the disease two days later. Results from two laboratories were required to officially confirm this case to the World Health Organization.

Indonesia’s laboratories are still inefficient when it comes to rapid assessment of a bird flu patient and making a diagnostic. While in Vietnam such a case requires one day of testing, in Indonesia the great majority of avian influenza patients are diagnosed after three days. This is the warning given just recently by Dr. Santoso Suroso, the director of the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital in Jakarta. This is of particular importance with a disease such as bird flu, where quick and effective treatment is needed to give the patient any chance of survival. There are only three national laboratories that can test samples for avian influenza and all three lie in the capital city, Jakarta. However, samples come in by the thousands and from all over the country. For that reason, Indonesian authorities have taken the measure of building eight other regional laboratories, to help in the detection effort.

Indonesia’s bird flu death toll rose to 49 yesterday, as the country declared a 5 year old boy that had died six months ago was a victim of the H5N1 virus. The case was included in the statistics as the United Nations Health agency has revised its definition for human cases of avian influenza, as Sari Setiogi, a World Health Organization spokeswoman in Jakarta, declared yesterday. The boy lived in Bekasi, in the province of West Java and tests and samples collected from him were analyzed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The H5N1 infection was confirmed and so Indonesia is now easily leading the world’ worst affected countries by bird flu list. The child died on March 19th and in that period poultry deaths were also recorded in the area where he lived. Most of the bird flu human cases have been linked with previous contact of the victims with sick or dead birds. The fear is that a mutation of the virus could cause it to be passed on from person to person and cause a world epidemic.

A 14-year old girl living in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province has been recorded as the country’s 48th avian influenza fatality. The girl died in June, but was only recently tested positive for bird flu. The country’s Health Minister, Siti Padila Supari, held a news conference in Jakarta to make the announcement. She also said the the girl had previously had contact with fowls, as many chickens were found around the girl’s home. It is most probably that this is the source of infection. Indonesia’s death toll of 48 is now the highest in the world, easily surpassing Vietnam’s, a country that has, however been free of human cases of avian influenza for months.

A woman living in the South Sulawesi province, that had passed away in June, has been confirmed to have been infected with avian influenza. Laboratory testing results were only made public yesterday, as health officials from the country are forced to admit yet another flu case, despite the recent nationwide campaign that aims both to educate the general public on the disease and implement prevention measures. The case took so long to discover as the patient was not intentionally tested for bird flu at the time. She only presented high fever and the case was later forwarded to central health authorities to confirm a suspicion of avian influenza. Dead chickens were also found in the area where the woman lived and culling of other birds in the area will soon be carried out.

A 14-year old girl from Indonesia who died some two months ago was found to had been infected with the bird flu virus. The discovery comes so late after the girl’s death because she was tested as part of a routine check on several patients that presented influenza symptoms. The girl lives in a province 1,400 km northeast of Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, a region where chickens were also found dead after apparently becoming infected with the bird flu virus. One ministry official declared that two independent laboratories have confirmed the case, which is the country’s 47th, a death toll that is the highest in the world. The country’s refusal to conduct mass culling of birds in infected areas has been highly criticized, as now most of Indonesia’s 33 provinces have bird flu outbreaks. However, a plan of great proportion is under way now, as 300 million poultry are set to be vaccinated against the disease by the month of December. A nationwide campaign that aims to educate the general public was also launched last week. Avian influenza so far remains mainly an animal disease, but further mutations of the virus could cause it to be easily transmitted among humans and therefore cause a pandemic.

Spread across the world’s largest archipelago, consisting of more than 18,000 islands in Southeast Asia, Indonesia could be taken into consideration for many different reasons. Placed in a region of historical importance, anciently traversed by an important trade route to China, it was a thriving place for Hinduism and Buddhism before coming under the influence of Islam. Nowadays, its population of 200 million people make it the post populous Muslim-majority nation anywhere in the world. However, this is not information you will come across if you search for this country in the news now. 2006 has brought Indonesia in the spotlight for the ravishing effect that bird flu has had in the region.

Although the virus was originally discovered in Hong Kong and China, different factors that are to be found in Asian countries, such as poor hygiene measures in populations living closely together and relying heavily on backyard poultry raising, have rapidly spread the disease across the entire continent. While last year Vietnam was the most heavily hit country, Indonesia and Thailand have proven unable to contain the disease in recent months. Indonesia in particular is now facing a severe crisis, raising concerns at an international level. While the main causes for the situation are relatively obvious, Indonesian authorities seem unable to cope with the massive epidemic among poultry, which eventually causes human victims as well.

The main reason the country is often helpless in its attempt to contain the virus is financial inability to sustain an anti bird flu effort. The 2005 tsunami tragedy has severely impaired a country already facing financial difficulties. With thousands of victims and people left with no shelter, as well as major infrastructures to rebuild, an epidemic of massive proportions is not what the government would have been glad to face. Avian influenza is spreading rapidly and one of the basic measures that are to be taken is a rapid and complete culling of the birds in the affected areas. However, this requires the government to reimburse the owners for the killed birds. In a country where most of the population depends heavily on raising domestic poultry, this adds up to quite a hefty amount. It seems what a peasant receives for every bird is now little more than one dollar. In these conditions many  choose not to allow the culling of the birds.

Another issue is sending the message across to the entire population. Avian flu prevention requires education of the population, especially in a country with a large percentage of rural population. However, the isolation of many provinces and lack of coordination between the government and local authorities often lead to inefficiency of flu prevention programs. Cultural differences among Indonesia’s population only add to the obstacles that officials are facing.

In May, a case of particular importance drew the world’s attention again. A entire family of eight from North Sumatra fell victim to the disease and raised concerns that the virus had been transmitted from person to person. This is the biggest concern that experts have about the virus. If the illness can be transmitted among humans, then a pandemic is one step away. However, the case was the only one to be reported so far and it is not yet clear what the circumstances were. In recent weeks, Indonesia’s death toll has risen rapidly to 46, the highest in the world. 29 out of the country’s 33 provinces have been confirmed to have bird flu outbreaks and these worrying figures have prompted the government to launch a massive campaign against the disease. The plan is to vaccinate around 300 million poultry, starting this month and continuing all the way to December. A nationwide bird flu education is also on the table, with the focus on rural farmers and their families.

Although the issue may at times seem out of control in Indonesia, a look to the example Vietnam has given is encouraging when it comes to fighting the disease. Although suffering heavily after massive outbreaks, strict prevention and surveillance measures, as well as quick action after the discovery of new infected areas, have kept the country clean of any new human cases this year. Indonesian authorities hope that the disease’s spread can be at least slowed down, as eradicating of the virus looks impossible. Time will tell if success is possible in this undertaking.

Indonesian authorities announced the start of a nationwide anti bird flu campaign on Friday, in an attempt to stop the spreading of the disease which has been confirmed in 29 out of the country’s 31 provinces. After two years since the first cases confirmed on Indonesian soil, the death toll has risen to 47 in the Asian country and now massive funding is going towards an effort which is planned to help the country go through the crisis. One health official declared the government is aware that the issue is not one that will go away soon. Women and children constitute the majority of bird flu victims so far.

Ai Siti Amanah, a 9 year old girl living in an Indonesian region heavily affected by bird flu, has died after falling victim to the virus. She was only admitted to hospital carrying symptoms of the disease a day before. Laboratory tests proved that she had bird flu and further samples have been sent to an US-affiliated laboratory for confirmation. The village of Clikelet, where the girl lived, accounted for another bird flu victim just recently, while another death was recorded but without tests being carried out on the boy before he was buried. Avian influenza’s worst form - the H5N1 strain - is ravaging poultry stocks across Asia since late 2003. Indonesia now hold the highest death toll, with the latest victim bringing the number of deaths to 45.

Another bird flu suspicion surfaces in Indonesia, as a nine year old girl from Cikelet, in West Java’s Garut district, is suspected of carrying the bird flu virus. The area is the same where the country’s latest confirmed case died in hospital, just recently and bringing Indonesia’s victim count to 44. A doctor from Garut’s main hospital told the press that the girl, living in a village from Cikelet, was admitted to hospital with typical symptoms of pneumonia. Suspecting a bird flu case, doctors put her in an isolation unit and took samples to test. However her condition remained critical until her death yesterday.

A cousin of the latest recorded bird flu case in Indonesia died more than a week ago and it is now revealed that he presented flu symptoms. A 17 year old teenager from West Java’s Garut district is refusing hospital treatment and is the country’s 57th confirmed case. Health authorities claim this highlights a need for more medical equipment. Garut’s health office’s chief, Iman Firmanulah, has told reporters that the young man’s cousin Misbah died on August 6th after exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Both of them had come into contact with dead poultry but Misbah was buried before researchers had the chance to test him for bird flu. A positive diagnostic cannot be made now but his symptoms were very similar to those of bird flu patients. Members of the man’s family are now being tested for avian influenza.

After becoming the world’ worst hit country by avian influenza last week, when two new patients died and brought the total victim count to 44, Indonesia records yet another case. A 17 year old teenager from West Java’s Garut district, an isolated area of Indonesia, was diagnosed with avian influenza, but is refusing treatment at a special hospital designated for such cases. Laboratory tests have confirmed the suspicion, but the young man’s refusal to be treated is typical to the level of understanding local inhabitants have about the virus. The strain of the virus in question is H5N1, the most dangerous one. The man had been in contact with dead chickens in the vicinity of his house and subsequently became ill. Samples from relatives and close neighbours have also been collected to test for any transmission of the virus, while culling of birds in the area will be conducted soon.

Indonesia’s latest bird flu victims have drawn attention once again on the highly populated Asian country. Although mainland countries in the region, such as China and Vietnam, have more or less successfully tackled the problem, the archipelago based country seems incapable of containing the massive outbreak of avian influenza that has been sweeping across the country. The death toll has recently reached 44, the highest in the world. However, Indonesian authorities claim they are doing their best to stop the spread of the disease. However, a population of 220 million, distributed on roughly 18,000 islands, makes it difficult to implement an efficient system to combat the avian influenza epidemic. One thing that international experts warn on is the fact that the issue is still primarily an avian one. Human victims are provoked by a rapid spread of the virus among its natural host - poultry. And inefficient prevention measures among fowl will fail to contain the virus among humans. Despite extensive campaigns in the media and even door-to-door visits in some parts of the country, many of the islands’ inhabitants remain indifferent to the danger of coming into contact and handling diseased or dead birds. Cultural differences in the country also makes it difficult for a central, coordinated effort to take place.

Only hours after Indonesia’s bird flu death toll became the worst worldwide, the number rose yet again. A teenage girl who died on Tuesday tested positive for the avian influenza virus, declared a health ministry official. The girl, aged 17, lived in North Jakarta, but it is not yet clear how the girl contracted the disease. Just hours before this announcement, a 16 year old boy also living in the outskirts of the capital city Jakarta, was confirmed as the country’s 43rd bird flu victim. Results from the World Health Organization are now expected to confirm the results, as local tests are not considered definitive. Indonesia has been heavily criticised for not applying severe enough measures to stop the bird flu outbreaks that have been ravishing the country since late 2003. The disease is still essentially an animal one, but it is feared mutations of the virus could spark a world epidemic among humans.

The Indonesian teenager being treated for bird flu in the Sulianto Saroso hospital has died on Monday. Confirmation of preliminary tests to show the infection was indeed caused by the H5N1 virus is expected and could bring the country’s death toll to 43, the highest recorded by any nation so far. The boy’s name has not been released. He was admitted to hospital on Saturday and his condition rapidly deteriorated. The virus apparently spread after he had contact with sick chickens from his home, east of the capital city of Jakarta. This puts Indonesia at the top of the victims list in the world, narrowly topping Vietnam, country which has, however, used an aggressive campaign against bird flu and has not recorded any human cases this year. Indonesia has a poultry population of hundreds of millions and there are fears the virus will be very difficult to contain.

The 16 year old Indonesian teenager who recently tested positive for bird flu is said to be in a deteriorating condition. Although results of additional tests were expected to confirm the diagnostic, health officials are quite certain avian influenza has caused the boy’s condition to deteriorate so rapidly. He is now receiving treatment at Sulianto Saroso Hospital, but needs a respirator to carry out simple breathing functions. Indonesia has been heavily affected by the H5N1 strain of the virus, recording 42 human deaths in the last year. In May, seven members of the same family all succumbed to the disease, raising fears that a dangerous transmission from person to person had taken place.

A 16 year old Indonesian teenager has been found to be infected with the deadly bird flu virus, as results from a local laboratory have proven. The young man resides in Bekasi, on the outskirts of the capital city Jakarta and is being treated in a special bird flu center in the Sulianti Saroso Hospital. Apparently the patient had been in contact with diseased chickens, this being the most common mode of transmission of the virus, which is endemic in poultry in nearly all of the country’s provinces. However, local tests on samples taken from the patient are not thought to be definitive, and further results from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are awaited to confirm the diagnostic. Indonesia has recently equalled Vietnam’s bird flu death toll, although Vietnam has not recorded any new cases this year, following an aggressive culling campaign in infected areas.