# 2364
South Sulawesi
It is a bit too soon to know if any of these people are actually infected with the H5N1 virus.
The `bird flu' symptoms referred to in this Jakarta Post article are simply `flu-like' symptoms, and could be indicative of anything from seasonal flu - to Typhus - to Dengue - to Chikungunya - to yes, even avian flu.
The deaths of chickens in the area, however, elevates concerns over whether these people may have contracted the H5N1 virus.
We will need to await the results of blood tests, and then hope that the Indonesian government will allow those results to be made known.
This from the Jakarta Post.
Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:55 PM
17 treated in Makassar for suspected bird flu
Andi Hajramuni , The Jakarta Post , Makassar | Thu, 11/13/2008 8:23 PM | National
Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital in Makassar, South Sulawesi, has been treating 17 patients since Wednesday for suspected bird flu.
The suspects, 13 of them children, are residents of Sudiang subdistrict. Seven were admitted to the hospital Wednesday, the rest arrived Thursday.
Hospital spokesperson Andi Kurnia Bintang said the patients were suffering from high fever, coughing and breathing difficulty, all symptoms closely associated with bird flu.
"Rapid tests showed they may be infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus, but we are waiting for blood test results to come back from the Hasanuddin University lab," Kurnia said.
Kurnia said 31 chickens had died in the subdistrict in the past week before three toddlers started to show symptoms Monday.
Separately, head of Makassar's husbandry office, Sulistiawati, said that his office had found several chickens which tested positive in the bird-flu quick test.
She said she had sent officers to cull 20 birds and spray disinfectant at chicken farms in the area. (dre)
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