16-year-old is 12^th victim in Indonesia
NST, 27 Nov 2005

JAKARTA, Sat. ---A 16-year-old boy has been confirmed as Indonesia’s 12^th bird flu case, a health official said today, as the world’s fourth most populous country readied to mass-produce the anti-flu drug Tamiflu.

Health ministry official Hariadi Wibisono said the condition of the boy, admitted to the state hospital in Bandung on Nov 15, was good but he was infected.

“Tests taken from the boy, both locally and by the World Health Organization, show that he is a bird flu patient”.

“We have received news that his condition is quite good and we hope that he can survive”, he added.

Seven fatalities from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza have been confirmed in Indonesia by the WHO, but more than one dozen suspected bird flu deaths have been reported.

Health officials are waiting for WHO confirmation of local tests that showed that a 35-year-old man who died on Nov 19 was the country’s eighth fatality.

Four others have been confirmed as carrying the virus but have either recovered or are receiving treatment.

Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari meanwhile said the Government aimed to produce a “minimum” of 22 million Tamiflu pills, to boost the country’s stockpile of 800,000.

Ten tablets should be sufficient for one course of the anti-viral drug, deemed the most effective treatment available in the event of a flu pandemic.

Swiss giant Roche approved local production of Tamiflu yesterday. The drug is to be manufactured by state-run Kimia Farma and Indo Farma pharmaceutical firms, beginning in three to five months.

“This is a testament of our seriousness in tackling bird flu”, the minister said.

The drug would be for stockpiling only and is to be distributed across West Java, Jakarta and Banteng, the three most-affected provinces in the country so far. Bird flu has claimed more than 60 lives in Asia since 2003.

Indonesia has pledged a year-long fight against bird flu, which includes house-to-house checks and culls.

The Government was accused of covering up initial outbreaks of bird flu and has been repeatedly warned that it must take quick action to stem the spread of the virus, with awareness of the disease outside the capital remaining low.

Agricultyre minister Anton Apriyantono yesterday said backyards as well as farms across Jakarta and its neighboring towns of Bogor, Depok and Tangerang to the south and east would be scoured weekly for signs of the disease.

He urged civilians to be “willing to allow their sick or non-sick chickens and birds” to be culled and said they would be compensated at market prices. --- AFP.