SiliconInvestor
Stocks, Commodities, Indices
Foreign Exchange & Discussion Boards
 Advanced
  Search
LoginRegisterMDC HotMail (0)SubjectMarksPeopleMarksMy Account

Message Boards | Miscellaneous (Biotech/Medical) : SARS and Avian Flu -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

Public Reply | Prvt Reply | Mark as Last Read | File | KeepPrevious 10 | Next 10 | Previous | Next
From: Henry Niman9/19/2005 2:42:51 PM
Read Replies (1) of 4181
 
Indonesia tests for avian flu at zoo after 19 birds infected by virus

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050919/w091924.html

02:39 PM EDT Sep 19
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Health officials tested workers at a popular zoo in the Indonesian capital for avian flu on Monday after rare eagles, peacocks and other birds were infected by the virus, forcing authorities to close the establishment.

Meanwhile, three children suspected of contracting the disease were being treated at Jakarta's infectious diseases hospital. Blood samples from the three have been sent to Hong Kong for testing, the health minister said.

The three children - two of whom were in serious condition in the hospital's intensive care unit - are not believed to have contracted the virus from the zoo.

The developments highlighted Indonesia's continuing struggle against bird flu, which is endemic in chicken flocks across the sprawling island nation and has killed four humans since July, the most recent being a 37-year-old woman who died nine days ago.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has swept through poultry populations in large swaths of Asia since 2003, resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of birds. It has also jumped to humans, killing at least 63 people.

Young children are particularly vulnerable to the disease, and news that birds - including rare eagles, herons and peacocks - were infected at Ragunan Zoo in south Jakarta is a particular cause for alarm.

The 19 were from a sample of 27 birds that were randomly tested earlier this month.

On Monday, health workers took blood from employees at the zoo for testing as a precautionary measure.

"It is to give them reassurance," said zoo spokesman Titis Sari Puntorini.

All the birds at the zoo were due to be tested later Monday, Puntorini said.

Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said infected birds with no conservation value would be slaughtered. Rare birds with the virus would be given medicine, while uninfected ones would be vaccinated, he said.

"If we give them medicine, there is a possibility they can be cured," Puntorini said.

The zoo, Jakarta's largest, will be closed for three weeks.

So far, most human cases have been traced to direct contact with infected birds, but health experts have warned that the virus could mutate and become easily communicable from human to human, possibly triggering a deadly global pandemic.
Report TOU ViolationEmail This Page 
Public Reply | Prvt Reply | Mark as Last Read | File | KeepPrevious 10 | Next 10 | Previous | Next


LoginRegisterMDC HotMail (0)SubjectMarksPeopleMarksMy Account
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQTalkzillaYou are on WEB1.
Copyright © 2009 TZ Holdings LLC. All rights reserved.