A fresh case of human avian flu has been reported in Indonesia. The patient is a 16-year-old boy who tested positive for the dreaded H5N1 virus at the Sulianto Saroso Hospital for Infectious Disease in Jakarta. He was earlier treated at a Cikarang hospital before being moved to Jakarta.
Confirming the fresh case, Ilham Patu, a Sulianto Saroso spokesman, said that the teenager's condition is now stable but serious. The boy is believed to have contracted the virus from chickens in a farm in Bekasi near Jakarta. “Reports that came in suggest that the patient had contact with dead chickens,” said Runizar Rusin, a spokesman for the Indonesian health ministry. He added that the blood samples and nasal swabs would be sent to the World Health Organization (WHO) as also to the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) to confirm the diagnosis.
“The symptoms are a high, white blood cell count, high body temperature and breathlessness. He's now using a ventilator to help him breathe,” Rusin said.
If confirmed, the teenager would join the list of human cases of bird flu that has 54 other cases. The avian disease has killed around 42 in the country and is threatening the health of humans the world over. In May, seven members of a family succumbed to the virus, becoming the biggest cluster of bird-flu deaths so far. In spite of the high incidence of human cases, Indonesia has refused to cull its poultry like other countries, citing lack of funds as the primary reason.
