WHO investigation of Deadly Bird Flu Virus in Indonesia & Pakistan

Bird Flu Chicken Pakistan Indonesia

Jakarta: Six members of a family hospitalized with bird flu symptoms, are now cleared, an Indonesian health official said. The six Indonesians from a small village in Banten province had been suffering from high fever after more than a dozen sick ducks died in their backyard.

Nyoman Kandun, director-general of communicable disease control at Indonesia’s health ministry, said that the laboratory tests in two sets indicated that the six patients admitted to hospital in Jakarta did not have any H5N1 virus.

“Clearly, it’s not a cluster. We do not even have a confirmed bird flu case here, ” Kandun said.

Authorities suspect that it could point to human-to-human transmission of the virus. Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily from person to person, triggering a global pandemic in which millions could die.

Indonesia has had the highest number of human infections globally with 115 confirmed human cases of bird flu, out of which 93 have been fatal.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization officials said, limited human-to-human bird flu transmission may have occurred in Pakistan, but no infections have been reported for the past two weeks.

WHO carried out an investigation in Pakistan, after nine patients, including several family members, were suspected of H5N1 bird flu infection. The WHO investigation comprised of regions in north of Islamabad.

Dr. David Heymann, the WHO’s top flu official in Geneva, said, “I think the team right now feels on initial analysis that this might be a small chain of human-to-human, non-sustained transmission. ” Mr. Heymann added that there was no cause for alarm.

Photo Credits : ilri.org 

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