The number of humans infected by the H5N1 virus in Indonesia this year was 20 as of August, with 17fatalities. Seeing the situation, Indonesia should persist in preparing for a bird flu pandemic despite reports suggesting declines in cases of bird-to-human and bird-to-bird infections.
"This is a decline, from 55 cases with 45 fatalities in 2006 and 42 cases with 37 fatalities in 2007," the Jakarta Post daily on Wednesday quoted the Indonesian Health Ministry's director for animal-vector diseases Erna Tresnaningsih as saying.
Indonesia has recorded a total of 137 confirmed bird-to-human infections, 112 of them fatal, since July 2005, when the H5N1 virus was first found to attack humans.
Twelve of the country's 33 provinces had recorded infections in humans, but seven of the provinces saw no new cases in the past year, leaving incidents of bird flu infections concentrated in West Sumatera, Banten, Jakarta, West Java and Central Java.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article