# 509
Meanwhile, in Indonesia where we have seen a drastic reduction in reporting over the past couple of weeks, the Jakarta Post has a story on a possible family cluster. Testing has not been completed, and so it is uncertain if this is actually a case of bird flu infection.
Suspected bird flu cases in Padang
PADANG, West Sumatra: Three suspected bird flu patients have been receiving treatment at M. Djamil Hospital in Padang, West Sumatra, a hospital executive said Monday.
Ira Yanti, head of the hospital's medical services section, said the condition of the three had been improving. Results of laboratory tests from the Directorate General for Disease Control in Jakarta are still pending, which would determine whether the three are infected by the avian flu virus.
Ira said the patients were members of the same family in Padang Gantiang district in Tanahdatar regency.
Three days before they began displaying symptoms several of their chickens died suddenly. Tests conducted by the West Sumatra Husbandry Office confirmed the birds were infected with the virus.
As of last year M. Djamil Hospital has treated 18 suspected bird flu patients. Only two of them tested positive for the virus, with both recovering.
"The two patients were infected in Lampung and Jakarta. They are Minang people who had just returned home to Padang and received medical treatment here," Ira said. -- JP
Over the past couple of weeks the Indonesian media has reported on numerous `suspected cases', including some deaths, but official responses or follow ups are growing increasingly rare.
Indonesia has been hit by a wave of Dengue fever, and some of these `suspected cases' may well be Dengue, pneumonia, or some other non-bird flu pathogen.
The picture there remains murky.
