Suspect death in Jakarta fuels global bird flu fears
The US Health Secretary is on a tour of Southeast Asia, warning of an "inevitable" pandemic; Siberia will cull half a million birds and Israel is considering what steps to take.
Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) An Indonesian suspected of having caught bird flu died yesterday in a Jakarta hospital shortly after being admitted. The news comes as stepped-up initiatives and moves to counter the H5N1 virus are implemented worldwide. Israel and Russia are preparing measures to be taken. Meanwhile, the US Health Secretary Michael Leavitt, arrived in Bangkok to start a tour of Southeast Asian countries stricken by the virus. The plan is to urge governments to work more vigorously and swiftly to fight "the inevitable pandemic". "Three times in this century we have experienced pandemic influenza and they will come again. We must be ready," Leavitt said. "Our preparations are not yet complete nor are they adequate." Leavitt, who is leading a group which includes officials of the World Health Organisation and several US organizations, will visit Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in the course of his trip. The last was the hardest hit by the virus, with 43 of the 60 or so flu victims.
As for the suspected Indonesian victim, a hospital spokesman, lham Patu, said that for now, "there are only suspects that he contracted the bird flu virus", because tests ascertaining the cause of death are not yet available.
In Russia, meanwhile, the veterinary service in Kurgan province in western Siberia has announced the imminent culling of 460,000 birds in a bid to counteract the danger of the spread of the disease which already hit other zones in Siberia. The Russian Agriculture Minister revealed that 17 provinces in the Siberian region of Novossibirsk will remain under observation in case of suspected bird flu while quarantine has now been lifted from other areas previously hit by the disease.
Israel is also looking into emergency measures for fear that the epidemic may hit the country in the coming months, through migrating birds in the Jordan valley.
According to a report by the Health Ministry, 1.6 million out of a total of seven million Israelis would risk contagion. At least 800,000 would have to undergo medical visits, 10,000 would require hospitalization and 30,000 would die.
The news in Europe, meanwhile, is that the results of experiments of a Hungarian vaccine against bird flu will be available by next week. This was revealed by Laszlo Bujdoso, the head of the Maygar national health service.
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17/08/2004
20/02/2006
