# 5355
Thus far, it has turned out to be a bird flu centric morning here at AFD. Continuing in that vein, we have an update on a report out of Indonesia yesterday, increasing the number of hospitalized H5N1 suspect cases in Padang from 2 to 5.
In yesterday’s report (see More Indonesian Bird Flu Suspicions) we learned of two children hospitalized in Padang, suspected of H5N1 infection.
Today, Dutchy123 at FluTrackers has this update from MNC–TV news, which increases that number to 5.
"Five Toddlers Suspected to be Infected with Avian Influenza"
5 infants in the city of Padang suspected bird flu virus infected and treated at the Hospital Muhammad Jamil.
The five toddlers who allegedly infected with bird flu in the city of Padang, allegedly had contact with dead poultry. They treated intensively in isolation rooms in hospital with suspected disease M Jamil. Some of them, has been hospitalized for three days.
Until now, their condition is not stable and are still experiencing shortness of breath and high fever. To verify whether or not they are positively infected by H5N1 virus, blood samples have been sent to a hospital in Jakarta. Based on the testimony of parents of patients, their children had direct contact with chickens died suddenly in the home environment.
Anticipating the spread of the H5N1 virus, Animal Husbandry Department sprayed the town of Padang and check poultry in traditional markets market. Since early 2011, found 10 cases of birds died suddenly in the town of Padang. Dozens of dead birds was positively infected by H5N1 virus. Traders are encouraged to maintain the cleanliness of their chicken coop.
You can follow any new reports on this thread at FluTrackers.com.
Meanwhile, the Jakarta Globe has a story on yesterday’s report on a family of four in Indramayu suspected of having the H5N1 virus.
Again, test results are awaited, and so for now . . . these are merely suspected cases.
Indramayu Family Believed to Have Bird Flu Hospitalized
Dessy Sagita | March 04, 2011
We’ll have to wait to find out if any of these suspected cases actually turn out to have the H5N1 virus. If that should turn out to be true, the next question will be the route of infection.
Obviously, we’ll watch for any signs of human-to-human transmission. While we’ve seen that a few times in the past, it has been a rare event.
There are now at least a half dozen clades (branches off the family tree) of the H5N1 virus circulating in Asia and the Middle East, and potential mutations and adaptations of the virus to non-avian hosts are an ongoing concern.
You can see the evolution of the virus over the years in the graphic below.
For more on this evolution see Variations On A Bird Flu Theme.
So we watch these cases, and particularly clusters of cases, with considerable interest.
For now, however, H5N1 is primarily a threat to poultry.
The virus remains poorly adapted to human physiology, and despite ample opportunities in places like Egypt and Indonesia, only causes rare, sporadic infections.
The concern, of course, is that over time that may change. And so the world remains at Pre-pandemic Phase III on the H5N1 virus, and we continue to watch for signs that the virus is adapting to humans.
