Published Date: 2009-03-01 23:00:52
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human (44): Indonesia, Egypt susp.
Archive Number: 20090301.0853
AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN (44): INDONESIA, EGYPT SUSPECTED
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A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
In this report:
[1] Indonesia
[2] Egypt
*****
[1] Indonesia
Date: Sun 1 Mar 2009
Source: MetroTVNews.com, Indonesian TV Headline News [edited]
<http://www.metrotvnews.com/> via
<http://birdflucorner.wordpress.com/>
A young boy, a resident of Kampung Kandang, Desa Sukaraya, Bekasi,
West Java Barat, passed away at Persahabatan hospital, East Jakarta
on Saturday [28 Feb 2009]. [The suspected cause of death] was bird
flu infection. The boy had previously been treated for 6 hours at
Anisa hospital, [then he was transferred] to Persahabatan hospital
[when] laboratory test results indicated bird flu infection.
According to the victim's parents, their son developed fever for 10
days. They only found out that their son had contracted bird flu
virus after the hospital [refused to] allow the boy's coffin to be
opened.
--
Communicated by:
a correspondent who has requested anonymity
[This is another suspected case of avian H5N1 influenza virus
infection in a young person awaiting official confirmation.
The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Indonesia can be accessed at
<http://healthmap.org/promed/en?v=-2.6,116.9,5>.
Bekasi lies just to the east of the capital Jakarta. - Mod.CP]
*****
[2] Egypt
Date: 1 Mar 2009
Source: Reuters [edited]
<http://www.reuters.com/article/americasCrisis/idUSL1668497>
Two-year-old boy becomes Egypt's 56th bird flu case
----------------------------
A two-year-old Egyptian boy has contracted the bird flu virus and is
in critical condition, the state-run news agency quoted the Health
Ministry as saying on Sunday, becoming the 56th case in the Arab
country.
The Middle East News Agency (MENA) quoted Assistant Health Minister
Nasr el-Sayyed as saying the boy, Youssef Abdel-Azim from the
province of el-Fayoum in central Egypt, showed symptoms on Wednesday
after coming into contact with dead birds.
He was administered the antiviral drug Tamiflu and remains in
critical condition on an artificial ventilator at a hospital in
Cairo, Sayyed said, according to the agency.
Egypt is one of the only countries affected by bird flu that does not
offer compensation for farmers when poultry is destroyed, which many
experts say is the best way to ensure rapid detection of new
outbreaks.
Some 5 million Egyptian households depend on poultry as a main source
of food and income.
Since 2003, the H5N1 avian influenza virus has infected 408 people in
15 countries and killed 254 of them. It has killed or forced the
culling of more than 300 million birds as it spread to 61 countries
in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
While H5N1 rarely infects people, experts fear it could mutate into a
form that people could easily pass to one another, sparking a
pandemic that could kill tens of millions and topple the global
economy.
(byline: Alaa Shahine)
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
[This is an additional unconfirmed case of H5N1 human infection,
awaiting further information. - Mod.LM]