In Indonesia, a 12-year-old girl has died in Surakarta, suspected to be due to avian influenza. Another suspected case is being treated in the same hospital.
In Bandung province, the number of patients suspected of being infected with avian influenza has surged from 11 to 66 (as of March 1) in just one week. In East Java, a 12-year-old patient is in critical condition. In Batam, authorities are disinfecting a village after at least eight chickens died from H5N1. In Central Java, a 31-year-old man is suspected of contracting the virus from the carcasses of dead birds discarded near his home along a river.
The avian influenza outbreak is spreading around the world at an alarming rate, propelled by migratory bird pathways and weak containment networks. Serbia has recently reported the emergence of avian influenza, with the H5 virus found in a dead swan near the borders with Croatia and Hungary. In Iraq, a woman has recently died from the virus. In France, an additional 11 wild birds have been found dead.
TH.TÙNG
