Thursday, February 02, 2006
Avian influenza probable cause of Indonesian boy’s death
Health authorities in Indonesia report that a 15-year old boy who died in the Hasan Sadikin hospital in Bandung, was infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
The disease has killed at least 85 people mostly in Asia and authorities are concerned it may be spreading in Indonesia, where about 30 million village households have 200 million chickens in their backyards, increasing the risk the avian influenza virus will mutate into a form easily transmitted among humans.
The World Health Organization has confirmed 14 Indonesian fatalities from the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus, and is testing samples from a 22-year-old man who died on Jan. 26, Sari Setiogi, WHO’s spokeswoman said today.