Human cases of bird flu confirmed in Thailand, Indonesia

One new case of human infection with bird flu was confirmed in Thailand and two additional cases were confirmed in Indonesia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.

The patient in Thailand is a 7-year-old boy who developed symptoms on Oct. 16 and was hospitalized on Oct. 19, the WHO said in a statement, adding that the boy is recovering.

The boy is the son of a confirmed case who died on Oct. 19. These are the first two confirmed cases in Thailand in a year. Since the start of the outbreaks in Asia, Thailand has confirmed 19 cases, of which 13 have been fatal.

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia confirmed two additional cases of human infection with H5N1 bird flu virus, the WHO added.

The first newly confirmed case is a four-year-old boy from Sumatra Island in Lampung Province. He developed symptoms on Oct. 4,was hospitalized, recovered fully, and has returned home. He is the nephew of the 21-year-old man from Lampung, who was reported on Oct.10.

Although the two cases are related and lived in the same neighborhood, the UN health agency said human-to-human transmission is considered unlikely.

The second newly confirmed case in Indonesia was a 23-year-old man from Bogor, West Java. He was hospitalized on Sept. 28 and died on Sept. 30.

Epidemiological investigations uncovered exposure to infected poultry as the likely source of infection in both cases, said the WHO.

To date, Indonesia has reported 7 human cases of H5N1 bird flu, and four of the cases were fatal.

Source: Xinhua