H5N1 Positive Cases in Central Java Continue to Grow
Recombinomics Commentary
January 30, 2007
Six more suspected bird flu patients were admitted to Dr Sardjito Hospital here on Monday, bringing to 15 the number of such patients being treated at the hospital, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
"Four of the six patients belong to the same family hailing from Playen sub district, Gunungkidul district," spokesman of the hospital Trisno Heru Nugroho said.
"One of the patients was a six-year-old child identified by its initial Q. The result of a laboratory test suggests that the child tested positive for bird flu," he said.
The above comments add to concerns related to the large number of suspect cases in Indonesia. The most recent confirmed patient was from the same hospital and recently another patient (14M) was also positive on the rapid test.
This month the number of suspect cases in Indonesia has exploded. Most of these patients have tested negative for bird flu, but there have been six confirmed cases and only one of the confirmed cases has survived. Moreover, the confirmed cases had receptor binding domain changes.
The increase in the number of patients testing positive for H5N1 is a cause for concern. As noted above, there are 15 suspect cases hospitalized including the recent hospitalization of four family members.
More information on this familial cluster and other suspect cases would be useful.
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