Reuters repots health experts from around the world are converging on Indonesia, fearing a deadly bird flu outbreak there could spark a pandemic.
WHO warned last week that bird flu was moving toward a form that could be passed between human beings and that the world had no time to waste to prevent a pandemic.
According to Reuters, Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said on Wednesday the outbreak of bird flu that has killed at least four people and suspected of infecting more in the Indonesian capital could be described as an epidemic:
A girl who died in a Jakarta hospital on Wednesday after suffering from bird flu symptoms would be the fifth death in the country of 220 million if it is confirmed she had the disease.
The death, reported by a doctor at the hospital designated to handle bird flu cases, came two days after the government ordered a high alert against the disease, meaning it can now force people suspected of infection into hospitals.
California Yankee first posted about this strain of bird flu in January 2004. Back then the World Health Organization while calling for humans infected with the flu virus to be quarantined, cautioned that we need to keep the out break in perspective.
The disease has now killed a total of 64 people in four Asian countries since late 2003 and has spread to Russia and Europe. Today the World Health Organization sounds less reassuring:
Based on historical patterns, influenza pandemics can be expected to occur, on average, three to four times each century when new virus subtypes emerge and are readily transmitted from person to person. However, the occurrence of influenza pandemics is unpredictable. In the 20th century, the great influenza pandemic of 1918–1919, which caused an estimated 40 to 50 million deaths worldwide, was followed by pandemics in 1957–1958 and 1968–1969.
Experts agree that another influenza pandemic is inevitable and possibly imminent.
Last April President Bush signed an executive order authorizing the government to impose a quarantine to deal with any outbreak of the bird flu.
The Avian Flu Blog posts that the latest news from Indonesia is quite worrisome.
Bird Flu is now a major issue in every where and need a serious attention.
Posted by: Andrew Spark | Tuesday, February 14, 2006 at 04:14 AM