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Mystery Illness in Bogor Near Jakarta Indonesia
Recombinomics Commentary
September 19, 2005
Bogor Police chief Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said on Sunday a student identified as Aris Tadjudin died after suffering severe stomach aches and diarrhea on Saturday…….
An employee at the school who did not want to be named, blamed the diarrhea on a mystery sickness that had plagued the entire neighborhood.
"They are not sick from food poisoning. Aris died during treatment at the hospital, not here. Not only the students but nearby residents also have diarrhea," he said.
The staff said 20 students were treated in several nearby hospitals, while the remainder stayed at the boarding school.
Although officials are investigation food poisoning as the cause of the illness at the boarding school, the staff attribute the symptoms to a mystery illness which is also affecting nearby residents. Although infection of 100 students is unlikely, symptoms like stomach cramps may simply be due to concern over a significant number of infected students. The diarrhea in the nearby residents suggests an infectious disease in the area.
This is cause for concern because Bogor is 10 miles south of the Ragunan Zoo where a large number of birds are H5N1 positive. H5N1 bird flu has also been detected in nearby poultry and pigs. The number of H5N1 cases in Jakarta is also growing.
There are already two familial clusters of five people. Four have already died of H5N1 and several children in Jakarta have also been hospitalized. Some or all of these children are also from Tangerang.
H5N1 testing of the ill students, especially the fatal case, would be useful.
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