Five Family Members Infected With Bird Flu

Five members of a family in Indonesia’s densely-populated West Java province are suspected to be infected with the deadly bird flu virus, the state-run news agency Antara said yesterday.

Fathurahman told Antara that his three children, aged eight, 10 and 16, were suffering from high fevers, coughing and had difficulty breathing following an outbreak of the virus among local poultry

“Dozens of our chickens and ducks died suddenly. The veterinary office tested the dead poultry positive for bird flu,” Fathurahman told Antara.

The three children, along with two other siblings in their extended family aged 17 and 30, and suffering similar symptoms, were reportedly admitted to Serang hospital, about 80km 50 miles west of Jakarta, earlier this week.

The five flu suspects were transferred yesterday to Persahabatan hospital in Jakarta, which is designated to treat avian influenza patients, Serang district health office chief Encep Mukardi told Antara.
An additional two members of the family have also reportedly suffered bird flu-like symptoms, but have yet to be admitted to hospital.

The health ministry’s bird flu information centre could not be reached yesterday for comment. Indonesia has suffered the world’s highest death toll from the H5N1 virus, with 93 confirmed deaths out of 115 confirmed cases.