H5N1 Confirmed Fatality in Bekasi Indonesia Causes Concern
Recombinomics Commentary 12:22
March 31, 2008
A 15-year-old boy from Subang, in West Java, died on Wednesday in an area where chickens had died, said Nyoman Kandun, director general of communicable disease control at the ministry.
An 11-year-old girl from Bekasi, east of Jakarta, who died on Friday also tested positive for the virus, the official said.
The above comments described a third confirmed case in Indonesia. The fatal case in Bakasi is close to the two fatal cases in Subang. However, in Subang only the second sibling has been officially confirmed. Both siblings were initially diagnosed as dengue fever. The older brother, described above, was subsequently confirmed to be H5N1 positive.
The direct general of communicable disease control is denying that the brother died of H5N1. Such denials are cause for concern.
Similarly, the death of the aunt of the confirmed case on Sumatra has not been mentioned in the English language press, raising additional concerns, as does the hospitalization of the nurse associated with the cases in Sumatra.
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