# 1851
Ten days ago, Etriani - a 29 year-old nurse who had attended two bird flu patients - was hospitalized with a fever and suspected of having bird flu.
Yesterday Etriani was released from isolation after testing negative for the virus, and allowed to go home. Officially, Etriani only suffered from common fever.
Despite Etriani reportedly only suffering mild symptoms, it apparently took nine days for doctors to rule out bird flu. That is a long time, even by Indonesian standards.
Testing for the H5N1 virus is often a hit or miss affair. False negatives and (more rarely) false positives are are known to occur. There have been cases where patients tested negative repeatedly, and only after their death, was the virus detected.
It is strongly suspected that the administration of oseltamivir (Tamiflu), which is routinely done for any suspect case, may cloud test results, preventing the detection of the virus. Often, doctors in Indonesia will treat patients as if they are positive for the virus, even in the face of negative test results.
It is, of course, certainly possible that Etriani suffered from a common fever. Perhaps even likely. There are literally scores of fever inducing pathogens commonly found in Indonesian (and other) hospitals. Were it not for Etriani's close contact with H5N1 patients, bird flu might never have been suspected.
Whether Etriani was really infected by the H5N1 virus will probably never be resolved. The gold standard of testing, checking antibody titers 2 to 4 weeks after the illness, is rarely done in Indonesia.
All we can say with certainty is that Etriani never tested positive for the disease, and after 9 days of isolation and treatment, was released from the hospital.
A hat tip to dbg on the Wiki for this translation.
Negative, Etriani Was Permitted To Come Home
Negative, Etriani Was Permitted To Come Home, "Irayanti: Did Not Show Suspect Bird Flu"
Rabu, 09 April 2008
Padang, Padek - After come out results of the Polymerase Chain Reaction test (PCR) first that stated Etriani (29) the negative contracted the bird flu illness, on Monday afternoon (7/4) he was permitted to come home by the team of the doctor.
This decision was taken by the doctor because since the beginning Etriani not indicate the clinical sign of the bird flu sufferer. Only he had the story of contact with alm Edi Satria, the older brother Alifah, the positive patient bird flu. "Since the beginning Etriani not indicate the clinical sign like two other patients, his condition continued to improve, only suffered the common fever.
However because he once contact with alm Edi Satria, the older brother from Alifah (2), the positive patient bird flu, he was treated in the room of the isolation.
After the issuing produced by PCR that stated the negative, then the team of the doctor permitted him to come home and the condition for his health has then been restored," said the Head of the Medik Service RSUP M. Djamil Padang, Irayanti to Padang Ekspres, on Tuesday (8/4). He said, the condition for the Etriani health unlike two patients suspect bird flu that also was treated in the room of the Irna C Penyakit Dalam RSUP Isolation M. Djamil Padang. He had not used medical equipment, like the infusion and oxygen.
Moreover after getting the maintenance, his condition continued to improve, the temperature of his body was normal, did not experience breathless and the number of his leucocytes was also normal, that is approximately 1,000 leucocytes. This condition increasingly was reinforced with results rapid test and PCR first both of them the negative.
