# 4994
It has been nearly a week since my last roundup of bird flu stories out of Indonesia (see Bird Flu Reports From Vietnam & Indonesia), and while reports haven’t exactly stopped, most of them appear to be a continuation of the poultry outbreak stories we saw earlier this month.
None of the suspected human cases – some hospitalized and some receiving treatment at home – were announced to have tested positive for the virus.
On Saturday, the Indonesian Ministry of Health did issue their 4th update of the year, and gave details on two earlier bird flu fatalities (see Indonesian MOH Confirms 2 Bird Flu Fatalities) from August and September.
After a slight lull in new reports over the past week, in the last 24 hours we’ve seen more media activity surrounding outbreaks of bird flu in poultry and – once again – some suspected human infections.
The newshounds on FluTrackers and the Flu Wiki, along with blogging stalwarts like Arkanoid Legent, Chen Qi, BFIC, and Crof are all far more adept at finding and translating these news reports than I, so I generally leave it to the experts and concentrate my blogging efforts elsewhere.
So with thanks to those who have done the heavy lifting here, some recent reports uncovered by my fellow flublogians over the past 24 hours.
For reference, today’s stories all emanate from in and around the Balikpapan region of East Kalimantan, Indonesia where ongoing bird flu problems have been reported for weeks.
Dutchy at FluTrackers has started a new thread that follows reports of several new suspected human H5N1 infections in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Details are sketchy, but at least one appears to be a 4 month old child.
The follow is a machine translation of an article that appeared in metrobalikpapan.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010,
Number Of Bird Flu Suspects Goes Up
A Baby and Some Manggar Residents ManggarBALIKPAPAN -Decision of the Mayor of H Imdaad Hamid SE to extend the alert status of AI for 15 days starting next Monday (18/10) and is the right step. Because until now the bird flu can not say safe. On Tuesday (19/10), the DKK reveals, the addition of residents suspect bird flu in Balikpapan.
Previously there was one resident who suspect bird flu, but after a negative review. Now comes another new suscpect against a four-month-old baby and a number of residents Manggar. "For babies 4 months old, took place two days ago. Then, this morning (yesterday, Red), there are new reports that there beberaap Lamaru also likely to have substantial citizens alike, "said Chief DKK municipal government, drg Dyah Muryani Hj.
Ida at the Bird Flu Information Corner has a different translation of the same article which is a bit easier to read and includes some useful clarifications (in italics)
Balikpapan, East Kalimantan ::: A baby suspected of Having bird flu
Posted by Ida on October 20, 2010
Balikpapan – A 4-month-old baby is suspected of contracting bird flu H5N1 virus. The baby developed breathing difficulty and fever, and possibly had contact with chickens raised below his house (traditional house in Kalimantan has structure of a stage, where settlement is detached from the ground, supported by wood. People use the lower space for raising animals or storing crops-adm).
Balikpapan city authority, Dyah Muryani mentioned the baby was referred from military hospital to Kanudjoso Djatiwibowo hospital(RSKD). “The baby is still under observation. Still not stated as bird flu suspect, but there is possibility since the baby shows breathing difficulty.
And not to be outdone, Treyfish of Pandemic Information News has posted this report on the FluTrackers thread.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 07:21:00
Two Citizens Suspected Bird Flu Suspect
TWO East Aberdeen residents suspected suspect bird flu, after it suffered a fever and shortness of breath after dipeliharanya chickens died suddenly. "I can report this morning. It also still will know more, because now people are still checked at the health center. Hopefully just a cold, "explained Head of City Health Office (DKK) Dyah Muryani yesterday.He said that since two days ago, there are also children who were treated in hospital dr Army Hardjanto suspected suspect bird flu. "Until now the baby is still under observation at the hospital, and we continue to monitor the situation," he said.
Over at the Flu Wiki, they have an extensive thread on current bird flu activity Indonesia - October 12 2010 to ..., which includes this report from bgw in MT.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 07:33:00
Bird Flu Spreads in 16 Villages
BALIKPAPAN- Balikpapan municipal government yesterday (18/10) finally decided to extend the alert status to the spread of H5N1 virus (avian influenza), up to 15 days in the future. The decision was taken because of bird flu continued to spread until the 16 villages from a total of 27 villages in Balikpapan. "This (yesterday, Red) we've decided to extend the alert status for 15 days.
Due to a sudden case of dead birds are still there, "said Head of Agricultural Department of Marine and Fisheries (DPKP) Balikpapan municipal government, Chaidar Chairulsyah after the coffee morning at city hall. He explained that the extension is absolutely necessary alert status.
Deciphering exactly what is going on in a country half-way around the world is never easy. We often see a flurry of Indonesian media reports on `suspected’ human cases, followed by little or no official word on their outcomes.
Since there are a great many viral infections common that region that can cause `flu-like’ symptoms, it is unreasonable to assume that all – or even most – of these suspected cases will turn out to have bird flu.
It is also pretty likely that some small number of cases of H5N1 infection are missed entirely, given the levels of reporting and surveillance in that region.
That said, Tamiflu is used extensively for anyone in contact with poultry (which is practically everyone) who develops `flu-like’ symptoms, and accurate testing for the virus has been problematic in the past.
Among the 170 officially acknowledged infections in Indonesia to date, 141 have died – producing a dismal 83% fatality rate.
Suspected cases out of Indonesia that survive are rarely determined to be laboratory confirmed infections.
The Indonesian government has publically stated that it is in their best interests to downplay these reports (see Indonesia To Stop Announcing Bird Flu Deaths), so we are often left with a less-than-satisfying resolution to these cases.
Given these the circumstances, we are pretty much left with monitoring local media sources for information about what is going on with bird flu in Indonesia.
An imperfect and often frustrating situation.
But one, that thankfully, the volunteer newshounds in Flublogia have resolutely undertaken for years.
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