H5N1 Fatality in West Jakarta
Recombinomics Commentary
December 25, 2007
A 24-year-old Indonesian woman from West Jakarta has died from avian influenza
He said that it is not clear whether the woman had historical contact with fowls as investigation is underway.
The woman first showed the symptoms of the disease on Dec. 14, and six days later, she was treated at the hospital, said Kandun.
The above comments describe another H5N1 fatality in Indonesia. West Jakarta is adjacent to Tangerang, the site of most of the recent confirmed cases in Indonesia. Like the latest victim, several of the recent cases did not have an obvious connection to poultry. Local media indicates contacts are being tested.
The reason for the clustering of these cases, as well as the high case fatality rate, remains unclear. Poor outcomes could be related to treatment delays. In the latest case, the patient was not hospitalized until six days after symptoms, and then wasn’t transferred to an infectious disease hospital.
Recent media reports indicated about 25% of the H5N1 cases in Indonesia do not have a clear link to poultry. In addition, the H5N1 evolution in birds trails the H5N1 in humans,, raising concerns of an alternate reservoir.
Release of sequences from these patients would be useful.
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