Tuesday, February 19, 2008

2 deaths in Indonesia, 1 death in China

"JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Bird flu killed a 3-year-old boy and a teenager in Indonesia, the health ministry announced, bringing the country's death toll from the disease to 105.
The latest victim was identified only as Han, a 3-year-old boy from the capital, Jakarta, who died Friday at a hospital in the city, radio El-Shinta reported Saturday.
Nyoman Kandun, a senior Health Ministry official, confirmed the report but did not provide details.
Laboratory tests confirmed the boy had the dangerous H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, Kandun said. It was not clear how he was infected.
Earlier Saturday, the Health Ministry said a 16-year-old Indonesian boy from Central Java province died of bird flu. The boy, whose name was not disclosed, became ill on Feb. 3 with a cough and other respiratory symptoms, according to the Health Ministry's Web site.
He died a week later in a hospital in the city of Solo, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) southeast of Jakarta, said Sumardi, a ministry spokesman. Like many Indonesians, he goes by one name.
Tests confirmed the teenager had been infected by the H5N1 virus, the ministry's Web site said.
The 16-year-old victim's neighbors had sick chickens on their property and the boy apparently slaughtered some of them before he became ill, the ministry said."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_GEN_INDONESIA_BIRD_FLU_ASOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-02-16-09-58-22

"BEIJING (Reuters) - A 22-year-old Chinese man from the central province of Hunan has died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the second death from the disease since late last year, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
The man, surnamed Li, first noticed symptoms of fever and headache on January 16. He went to hospital several days later and died on January 24, the ministry said on its Web site.
The provincial disease control and prevention centre subsequently collected a specimen from the victim on February 15, and the initial tests for the bird flu virus were positive.
A specimen was then sent to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing, which confirmed it as testing positive for the H5N1 virus on Sunday, the ministry said.
The ministry did not explain the reason for the delay in testing the victim for bird flu, but Hunan was one of the provinces most badly hit by freak snowstorms that killed over 100 people and cut off roads and power in many parts of central and southern China in late January and early February."

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSPEK34416620080218

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