July 15, 2005

Bird flu suspected in Indonesia

Bird flu could have caused the deaths of three Indonesians in the past one-and-half weeks, said the country's Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari on Jul 15.

The lack of evidence that they had been in contact with sickened poultry, however, raises fears that there has been a possible human-to-human transmission, said Supari at a press conference attended by WHO officials.

If confirmed, the three victims - a 38-year-old man and his two daughters aged nine and one - would be the country's first human casualties from the bird flu. The victims lived in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Indonesia's capital Jakarta.

The first victim - the one-year-old infant - died several days ago and had been buried, while tests on the other victims proved inconsistent. Test specimens have been sent to Hong Kong, with results expected in seven to 10 days.

Though the three Indonesian family members had no known contact with poultry, WHO representative Dr. Georg Petersen said investigations might prove the contrary.

The real fear would be that the virus has mutated into a form that can be transmitted from person to person, resulting in a global pandemic within months.

However, Supari added that the man's wife and their two maids have not shown symptoms of the same disease. Tests have also been carried out on more than 300 people who were in contact with the family.

In June, Indonesia suspected its first human case of bird flu in a poultry worker, but the man did not develop symptoms and is currently healthy.