#289
Word has reached us that Randi/Ramli age 14, who fell ill on or around the 1st of January and was hospitalized 5 days ago, died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Indonesia.
Officially, this makes the boy the 58th confirmed fatality in that country, although most experts would admit the actual number is likely higher.
This from Radio New Zealand News.
Bird flu kills Indonesian youth, new case in China
Posted at 9:42pm on 10 Jan 2007
An Indonesian teenager died of bird flu on Wednesday, bringing the country's death toll from the disease to 58, the highest in the world.
The boy, 14, from Tangerang in West Java, near Jakarta, was hospitalised in the capital, Jakarta, last week.
The head of the Indonesian health ministry's bird flu centre, Runizar Ruesin, says the boy was one of two confirmed cases of bird flu treated at the hospital.
She says five other patients were suspected of being infected with the bird flu virus but there had not yet been any laboratory confirmation.
After some period of quiescence, the H5N1 virus looks to be back with a vengeance, and today appears to be starting out as a heavy news day.
We anticipate the release of sequences on the latest human cases in Egypt from GenBank later today, and Dr. Henry Niman has been alluding to surprises to be found in the HA gene.
China has announced, belatedly, that they have treated and released an avian flu patient. The patient fell ill a month ago. They apparently claim to have discovered the patient’s H5N1 status just yesterday, and have received praise from the WHO for their `quick reporting’ of the situation.
In Indonesia, we are watching, and waiting for the tests on 5 close contacts of the 14-year-old boy who died today, all of whom are hospitalized with flu-like symptoms.
And townspeople in Bogor, Indonesia are worried that some of their children, numbering between 10 and 20, may be suffering from bird flu, although at the present it isn’t clear at all if that is the case.
And the situation in Vietnam appears to be growing worse, as per this report from the Canadian News.
Bird flu spreads in southern Vietnam; fears it could engulf whole country
Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, January 10, 2007HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Bird flu outbreaks among poultry continued in southern Vietnam and officials warned the disease could possibly spread to the entire country, officials and news media reported Wednesday.
Kien Giang province became the latest southern province struck by the H5N1 bird flu virus, with nearly 2,000 ducks killed or slaughtered over the weekend, said Dinh Cong Than, director of the provincial department of animal health. The birds had not been vaccinated.
More to come.
