# 2152
CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy) News has an excellent overview of two of the recent journal articles that appeared in the June 2008 edition of Annals Academy of Medicine Singapore, which devoted the entire issue to Avian Flu.
A complete listing of the articles available can be found here.
The two journal articles referenced in today's CIDRAP report are:
Giriputro S, Agus R, Sulastri S, et al. Clinical and epidemiological features of patients with confirmed avian influenza presenting to Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital, Indonesia, 2005-2007. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2008 Jun;37(6):454-7 [Full text]
Sedyaningsih ER, Isfandari S, Soendoro T, et al. Towards mutual trust, transparency and equality in virus sharing mechanism: the avian influenza case of Indonesia. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2008 Jun;37(6):482-8 [Full text]
Follow the link to read the entire article by Robert Roos, News Editor for CIDRAP.
Reports examine high H5N1 death rate in Indonesia
Robert Roos
News Editor
Jul 17, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – Recent reports from Indonesian health officials tie the high fatality rate in human H5N1 influenza cases there to the difficulty of diagnosing the disease, late treatment with antiviral drugs, and a shortage of well-equipped hospitals.
The case-fatality rate (CFR) in Indonesia, which leads the world in H5N1 cases, climbed from 63% in 2005 to 80% in 2006 and 85.7% in 2007, according to a report in the journal Annals Academy of Medicine Singapore. The CFR remains high so far this year, with 15 of 18 cases fatal, or 83.3%, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures.
By comparison, the CFR for the global total of 385 cases with 243 deaths is 63.1%. The fatality rate with Indonesian cases excluded is 53.2% (250 cases with 133 deaths, based on WHO figures).
Two reports in the Singapore journal discuss H5N1 cases in Indonesia. One, written by Indonesian Ministry of Health (MOH) officials, looks at the 116 cases, including 94 fatal ones, the country recorded from 2005 through 2007 (the article also defends Indonesia's refusal to share H5N1 virus isolates with the WHO). A second article, written by hospital physicians, profiles the 27 cases, including 21 fatal ones, treated at Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in Jakarta during that period.
