Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:12 pm Post subject: Bird Flu - Again...
JAKARTA (AP): Indonesia's latest bird flu patient checked out of hospital after spending just a night there, while his cousin died last week showing symptoms of the virus but was not tested in time, health officials said Monday.
Umar Aup was admitted to a hospital in West Java province last Wednesday and left the next day on the orders of his family, who said they could treat him at home with a mixture of prayers and traditional remedies, said Dr. Eka Sony, a Health Ministry official investigating the case.
The 17-year-old remains very ill, said Sony, who visited him Sunday in his remote village. "Our team felt very frustrated we were not able to persuade the family to let doctors take care of Umar," said Sony. "His father said he has the right to choose the treatment for his son, whatever the risk." Villagers said Aup and his cousin collected the carcasses of around 100 chickens that died suddenly last week and fed them to dogs, said Sony. Sony said Aup's cousin died after showing symptoms of the virus.
Health officials have said they suspect that many Indonesians have died from bird flu unreported because they no tests were performed. Laboratory tests have confirmed Aup has the virus. Just under 60 percent of those who contract the virus die from it, according to a breakdown of cases reported to the World Health Organization.
The case shows the challenges facing health workers dealing with bird flu in Indonesia, a sprawling country which last week became the country worst hit by the virus. It has recorded 44 deaths. The H5N1 virus has killed at least 138 people worldwide since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003, according to a tally kept by the WHO.
Most human cases have been traced to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus -- which remains hard for people to catch -- will mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic. The virus is rampant among Indonesia's billions of backyard chickens. Slaughtering often isn't carried out following outbreaks, vaccination is spotty and surveillance is weak, international experts say. (***)
Source: The Jakarta Post, August 14th, 2006 _________________ Wer tanzen will, muss die Musik bezahlen
Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:20 pm Post subject: Re: Bird Flu - Again...
Quote:
Umar Aup was admitted to a hospital in West Java province last Wednesday and left the next day on the orders of his family, who said they could treat him at home with a mixture of prayers and traditional remedies
Quote:
Our team felt very frustrated we were not able to persuade the family to let doctors take care of Umar,"
Quote:
Health officials have said they suspect that many Indonesians have died from bird flu unreported because they no tests were performed.
Quote:
Most human cases have been traced to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the virus -- which remains hard for people to catch -- will mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.
The bird flu problem seems to flying under the radar at the moment but remains a real threat.
I feel for the boy and his family, but I wonder if releasing him from hospital could be the kind of thing that leads to human to human transmission (and a possible pandemic). _________________ Wer tanzen will, muss die Musik bezahlen
Last edited by Hewer on Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:44 am; edited 1 time in total
If it ever transmutes to human-to-human disease, that will be the time to worry about it.
Meanwhile there are plenty of other nasties one can catch.
Debgue fever is making a comeback, with some nastier strains that prove fatal more often, as are other diseases. _________________ The Middle Eastern states aren't nations; they're quarrels with borders.- P. J. O'Rourke
If it ever transmutes to human-to-human disease, that will be the time to worry about it.
Meanwhile there are plenty of other nasties one can catch.
Debgue fever is making a comeback, with some nastier strains that prove fatal more often, as are other diseases.
Dengue fever?
Yeah, it's quite prevalent in S.China (Guangdong, Hong Kong) _________________
If it ever transmutes to human-to-human disease, that will be the time to worry about it.
Meanwhile there are plenty of other nasties one can catch.
Debgue fever is making a comeback, with some nastier strains that prove fatal more often, as are other diseases.
Dengue fever?
Yeah, it's quite prevalent in S.China (Guangdong, Hong Kong)
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