Monday, August 14, 2006
Indonesian bird flu patient refuses treatment, officials say
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.
Laboratory tests have confirmed Aup has the virus.