20 June 2006
Jakarta Boy Dies of Bird Flu, Indonesia's 39th Fatality
International experts will review findings on Indonesia's family cluster
Washington – A 13-year-old boy from South Jakarta has died from avian influenza, five days after he fell ill, the Indonesian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed June 20.
The child developed symptoms of illness one week after he helped his grandfather slaughter diseased chickens kept at the family home. The grandfather has shown no signs of illness so far, and is being monitored.
The case is the 39th death from the H5N1 avian influenza strain, which has led to the deaths of more than 200 million birds through either death or culling to prevent the spread of infection.
Indonesia has detected more human cases of this highly pathogenic bird flu strain in 2006 than any other nation. Some 28 deaths from 34 cases have been recorded in Indonesia. After a spate of outbreaks in 2005, Vietnam has experienced more human cases than any single nation, but none has been detected there in 2006.
With these developments at hand, an Indonesian government commission on avian and pandemic influenza has sought consultation from the international health community. Experts from the WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and others will gather in Jakarta, June 21-23, to assess the situation, according to a WHO update.
Indonesia also has experienced the greatest single cluster of cases, though weeks after the episode, it appears that the seven family exposures did not mark a turning point in the evolution of the virus, as initially was feared. The Jakarta meeting will review the evidence gathered in the aftermath of that family outbreak.
Health experts warn that the H5N1 virus could be on the verge of a mutation that would make it contagious between humans, a change that could set pandemic influenza in motion, with serious health, economic and social consequences worldwide.
No further disease has been found in the North Sumatran village where this cluster appeared, weeks after the incubation period for infection has passed, according to WHO. A team of international health investigators swept through the area after the cases appeared, conducting tests to detect exposure of the disease in a wide circle of neighbors, caregivers and others in the community.
U.S. ASSISTANCE
After U.S. congressional passage, President Bush June 15 signed an emergency funding bill that provides an additional $2.3 billion for pandemic influenza preparedness.
“We will continue our essential work to increase our domestic capacity to produce pandemic influenza vaccine and antiviral medications,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. “These funds also will enable us to further enhance federal, state and local preparedness efforts and to further strengthen the international public health infrastructure, which is a critical component of our global surveillance efforts.”
The United States has been at the forefront of efforts to raise awareness about the threat of pandemic influenza and to build international cooperation to avert it. (See related article.)
For ongoing coverage, see Bird Flu (Avian Influenza).
The WHO update is available on the organization’s Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
