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Indonesian authorities are reporting two more deaths, both suspected to be from the H5N1 virus, and a third patient that has tested positive.
Of particular note is the 22-year-old woman who apparently died 3 days ago. She reportedly had no contact with birds, but lived with 10 cats in her house.
Earlier this year we learned of research by C. A. Nidom, where he stated that 1 in 5 cats he tested in Jakarta showed antibodies (signs of previous exposure) to the H5N1 virus. There have been warnings over the past year that cats could be a possible vector of the virus.
Getting timely updates out of Indonesia has become more of a challenge in recent weeks due to the dispute between Indonesian officials and the WHO. Official reports are often late in coming.
Newshounds on the Internet are following a number of `suspected' cases mentioned in the local media, but the Internet translation site from Bahasa to English has been out of service today, so we are somewhat disadvantaged right now in our newsgathering.
As soon as more details are available, I'll pass them on.
Two more suspected bird flu deaths in Indonesia
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A teenager and a 22-year-old woman have died from suspected bird flu in Indonesia, a health ministry official said on Tuesday.
Both had tested positive for the H5N1 virus after an initial test, but officials were awaiting the result of a second test.
Indonesia has the world's highest human death toll from bird flu and if confirmed by the second test, the latest two deaths would take Indonesia's confirmed human death toll from the virus to 68.
A 15-year-old boy from Indramayu in West Java died on Sunday after falling ill on March 16 and receiving treatment in several hospitals, Muhammad Nadirin at the health ministry's bird flu center said by telephone.
The 22-year-old woman from Palembang in southeast Sumatra died on March 24. The Antara state news agency reported that she had not had contact with fowl, but that there were at least 10 cats at her house.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that cats should be kept away from areas affected by bird flu as they can pick up and spread the disease.
An initial test also showed that a 39-year-old man from Mojokerto in East Java was suffering from the H5N1 virus, Nadirin said. He was being treated at the Soetomo Hospital in the city of Surabaya.
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