So far no bird flu cluster in Indonesian village

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Aug 24 2006

According to health officials in Indonesia no evidence has been found of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 bird flu in the remote villages of West Java which have witnessed the latest outbreak of the deadly virus.

This has been confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Two people have died and a third is still ill with the killer virus from villages in Cikelet in the Garut district.

I Nyoman Kandun the health ministry's communicable disease control center director, says investigations have also shown there was no "cluster" cases in the villages.

To date there have been 18 suspected bird flu cases in Cikelet, and five other suspected cases died before swabs were taken to determine the cause of death.

A six-year-old girl was also confirmed positive for H5N1 in Jatiasih district in Bekasi; she developed symptoms on 6 August and was hospitalized on 11 August and remains hospitalized but is recovering.

The source of her infection is currently under investigation and the case takes the nations total for human infection to 62 since June 2005, with 47 fatalities.

Test results are pending for five others receiving medical treatment for symptoms of the disease.

The disease appears to have been brought into Cikelet three months earlier with live chickens purchased from an outside market, and chickens began dying shortly afterwards, with the outbreak spreading through the villages in the area.

Experts are always concerned when there appears to be a cluster of infection occurs i.e. when a group of people are infected from the same source.

Scientists believe cluster cases raise the likelihood of H5N1 mutating into a form easily passed between humans that could spark a global flu pandemic with a the potential to kill millions.

A total of 3,500 poultry had been culled in five areas within a one kilometer radius of Garut and tests have confirmed that half of the poultry were infected by H5N1.

The latest suspected bird flu case is a 61-year-old resident of Cimangke village who is being treated at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in the West Java capital of Bandung.

It seems many people hide their poultry when government officials come to their houses, despite officials explaining to village and community leaders the importance of the cull.

People are now being offered some compensation for every bird culled and in future the police will accompany inspectors on their rounds.

The Cikelet region of Indonesia`s West Java province is remote and inaccessible and the population have had no experience with the disease, and high-risk behaviors occurred during the disposal of carcasses or the preparation of sick or dead birds for consumption, says the WHO.

In order to contain the virus Indonesian authorities are testing all those who were in contact with the bird flu victims and so far all tests have been returned negative.

The 2,400 people in the area have been provided with Tamiflu, and 2,500 chickens have been culled.

Authorities in Thailand are using a team of 800,000 health volunteers to educate the public about avian influenza and how to prevent it.

The education program will continue for nine days using a door-knock system throughout 30 provinces which have been affected by bird flu.

As the autumnal migration of wild birds begins, governments such as Turkey and the Netherlands are warning their citizens that further avian influenza outbreaks are possible, and that care and diligence should be taken when dealing with dead birds.

As of yesterday, according to the WHO the total number of cases across the world since 2003 are as follows:-