Jun 3, 2011
WHO confirms Indonesian child's H5N1 infection
The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed H5N1 avian influenza in a 1-year-old Indonesian girl. Indonesia's health ministry had reported the case earlier this week on its Web site. The girl, from North Jakarta, got sick on Apr 3 and was hospitalized on Apr 8, the WHO said in a statement. She has recovered. An investigation revealed that, a week before she started having flu symptoms, she had visited a live poultry market with her father, where she handled chickens. The girl's illness pushed Indonesia's H5N1 case total to 178, of which 146 were fatal. The global H5N1 total now stands at 555 cases, including 324 deaths.
Jun 3 WHO statement
WHO outlines plan for fighting flu in Africa
Citing influenza's impact on Africa, including its death toll among children, the WHO today released a plan for easing the burden of the disease on the continent. Steps include gathering and sharing flu data better, improving surveillance and lab testing, bolstering patient care and education, and introducing and enhancing prevention and control strategies such as creating regional antiviral stockpiles. Other prevention and control strategies detailed in the report in the WHO's Weekly Epidemiological Record include better vaccine messaging, improved pandemic plans, and integrating flu-mitigation efforts with campaigns against other public health threats.
Jun 3 Wkly Epidemiol Rec landing page
Indonesia launches new zoonotic disease group
Indonesia's government has formed a new zoonosis committee to replace one that focused solely on the avian influenza threat, the Jakarta Post reported today. Government minister Agung Laksono told Tempo Interaktif, an Indonesian news outlet, that the Committee on Zoonosis and Communicable Diseases will monitor a wider range of zoonotic diseases, including anthrax and rabies. He said the committee replaces the National Commission for Bird Flu Control and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness. Indonesia is among the countries in which the H5N1 avian influenza virus is endemic in poultry.
Jun 3 Jakarta Post story
