The World Health Organization (WHO) reported yesterday, November 29, that a 16-year-old boy confirmed as the 12th case of avian influenza in Indonesia had two siblings who died with similar symptoms just days before he was hospitalized. This raises further concerns that the H5N1 virus may be transmissible from human to human.
The boy’s two siblings, a 20-year-old and a 6-year-old, died on November 11 after being diagnosed with typhoid fever. They were not tested for avian influenza, and the cause of death remains a significant unknown, according to WHO spokesperson Maria Chang.
“These two boys exhibited symptoms such as fever and respiratory issues, but we do not have their clinical samples. We have almost no way to determine the cause of their deaths,” Chang stated, adding that the possibility of avian influenza transmitting from person to person cannot be ruled out.
Chang noted that shortly before the deaths of the two boys, the family’s chickens had died from illness. The 16-year-old boy who tested positive for avian influenza is currently in stable condition. Additionally, Chang mentioned that a team of WHO experts and the Indonesian Ministry of Health had visited the village where the teenager lives to investigate the case. The investigation team has gone door-to-door in the area, which contains 80 households, and has not found any signs of an outbreak in the community.
Indonesia has officially confirmed 7 deaths from avian influenza among 12 people infected with this deadly disease. According to WHO, since 2003, the death toll from avian influenza in five Asian countries has reached 68, including Vietnam: 42, Thailand: 13, Indonesia: 7, Cambodia: 4, and China: 2.
T.VY (According to Reuters, Xinhua)
