Catching Up With Indonesia
# 471
We’re getting very little solid news out of Jakarta and surrounding areas over the past week, although patients continue to be treated for suspected flu burung or bird flu. The flooding there over the past few weeks has, no doubt, contributed to this dearth of news, but so has the squabble between Indonesian authorities and the WHO.
Despite the announcement on Friday that Indonesia would begin sharing their virus samples once again with the International community, it isn’t clear when that will actually happen. According to officials in Jakarta, conditions would have to be met first, and meetings with the WHO were scheduled for next month.
In the meantime, hospitals there are overrun with flood victims suffering from diarrheal diseases, malaria, dengue, and even leptospirosis . This is the official tally as of earlier this week.
Until February 14, 2007 at 06.00 p.m., progress of health problems caused by flood in DKI Jakarta, Banten and West Java is:
- 12,005 IDPs (Internal Displaced People)
- 1,011 inpatients (5 in DKI Jakarta Hospital , 2 in Banten Hospital, 5 in West Java Hospital). GEA patients are 644 and DBS patients are 100.
- 207,981 outpatients and 113 treated in health post.
- flooded health facilities are 25 health centers and 1 sub health center.
- 8 Leptospirosis cases are found (2 in Tarakan Hospital, 2 in Cengkareng Hospital, 2 in Tangerang Hospital and 2 in Fatmawati Hospital ).
- 1case of tetanus in Budhi Asih Hospital
- 5 biggest potential diseases in health center and health post in flooded Jadetabek are ARI, dermatitis, diarrhea, eye diseases and DHF.
On a daily basis we receive news reports of new `suspected’ cases of human H5N1 infection out of Indonesia. These reports are often very short on detail, leaving out particulars like the patient’s name, or even initials, making it almost impossible to keep track.
Most of these `suspected’ cases will turn out to be something other than bird flu. Between seasonal influenza, Dengue fever, Malaria, and now a deluge of flood related health problems, sorting out real cases from ILI’s (influenza-like illnesses) is nearly impossible from half a world away.
Rather than fill this blog with daily reports of `suspected’ cases, I’ve elected to wait until we see an up tick in confirmed cases to resume reporting on them.
What is obvious, at this point, is the flooding has probably complicated matters greatly. The massive culling operation is apparently in disarray, if it’s ongoing at all. Assurances that all poultry in the central area of Jakarta had been culled, issued by the Mayor, was belied by the frequent sightings by reporters of chickens roaming the streets.
Bird flu hasn’t gone away in Indonesia. Once again, a bigger natural disaster, with more immediate needs, has trumped their eradication efforts.
