FluWrap: Deaths Mount in Indonesia

[Guest guest]

Sounds like " informed consent " in action.

" Johannes Ginting, the sole survivor of Indonesia's largest infection cluster,

is still in

hospital but is refusing all manner of treatment for avian flu, officials from

Adam Malik

Hospital have said.

Nurrasyid Lubis, deputy director of the hospital, was quoted by the Charlotte

Observer as

saying: " Johannes doesn't want to be injected, doesn't want to take Tamiflu or

other

antibiotics. ... We had actually given masks and gloves to the family, and we

informed

them how dangerous this disease is, but they didn't cooperate with us. We also

informed

(Johannes) how dangerous it is, but he didn't believe us. "

http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060530-112740-4737r

FluWrap: Deaths mount in Indonesia

By KATE WALKER

UPI Correspondent

OXFORD, England, May 30 (UPI) -- Indonesia this weekend saw further deaths from

avian

influenza among increased reports of suspicion and poor health practices in the

North

Sumatran village that has seen the largest infection cluster confirmed thus far.

Thirty-seven deaths in Indonesia have now been attributed to avian-influenza

infection.

A brother and sister from Bandung both died from the disease on May 23, marking

the

seventh family cluster found in the country. The World Health Organization

confirmed that

their deaths were the result of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza on Monday.

A 14-year-old girl from Solok, in West Sumatra, has been infected with the

disease, an

Indonesian Health Ministry official announced. There have been no reports of her

condition.

Johannes Ginting, the sole survivor of Indonesia's largest infection cluster, is

still in

hospital but is refusing all manner of treatment for avian flu, officials from

Adam Malik

Hospital have said.

Nurrasyid Lubis, deputy director of the hospital, was quoted by the Charlotte

Observer as

saying: " Johannes doesn't want to be injected, doesn't want to take Tamiflu or

other

antibiotics. ... We had actually given masks and gloves to the family, and we

informed

them how dangerous this disease is, but they didn't cooperate with us. We also

informed

(Johannes) how dangerous it is, but he didn't believe us. "

The situation in Indonesia -- which has seen half of all deaths from bird flu

worldwide --

is further complicated by suspicion on the part of local villagers. This column

reported last

week that villagers outraged by their loss of income following bird culls had

taken to

public ceremonies in which they kill birds with their bare hands and drink the

blood.

Now villagers in Kubu Sembilang, site of the aforementioned largest cluster,

refuse to

believe that the deaths were a result of avian influenza, instead blaming black

magic.

The villagers are wary of the fact that seven members of the same family fell

ill, apparently

as a result of being in close contact with each other, yet none of the villagers

who cared

for the family has shown any signs of illness. The issue is further complicated

by the fact

that the WHO has so far been unable to identify how the first family member to

be infected

initially contracted the disease, as none of the animals in the vicinity of the

village has

tested positive for H5N1 antibodies.

In previous clusters, however, only blood relatives have been affected --

spouses and in-

laws have remained disease-free as grandparents and cousins have fallen ill.

But the suspicious villagers have taken to avoiding the house, which they say

has been

cursed and is haunted by the ghosts of the dead family, for fear of falling

under the curse

themselves. Instead, they have been cutting the necks of chickens and drinking

the blood,

proving themselves free of the curse.

Meanwhile:

-- The Cambodian government is struggling to spread awareness of avian influenza

in the

face of limited resources.

Cheoun Uork, whose 3-year-old daughter recently died from bird flu, had not

heard of the

virus until several days after his daughter died, ContraCostaTimes.com reported.

" Had I known about such a warning, I would have taken better precautions to

protect my

daughter, " he said. " She was my only child, and now I have to live with regret

over her

death. "

Due to budgetary constraints, the Cambodian government was forced to focus its

bird-flu

awareness resources on the five provinces deemed to be at greatest risk of

infections and

outbreaks. The remaining 19 provinces have seen little in the way of information

and

methods of disease prevention.

But even in those five provinces where the efforts have been focused -- those

bordering

Thailand and Vietnam, both of which have seen a number of outbreaks -- there is

a sense

that the message is not getting across.

Ly Sovann, head of disease surveillance control at the Cambodian Health

Ministry, told

ContraCostaTimes.com: " Sometimes, people are enjoying music on the radio, and if

a

commercial or education spot pops up after the song, they will switch to another

channel

for more music. That is why face-to-face communication with villagers is more

crucial for

training and encouraging them to take part in prevention of the disease. "

Megge , a WHO epidemiologist in Cambodia, was quoted as saying: " There's

obviously a lack of awareness in this community (about) what bird flu is. When

we went

into the field, families were asking questions, 'What is avian influenza? What

is this

about?' "

-- Russia is beginning the clinical trials of an avian-influenza vaccine

produced by

Mikrorentgen on 240 human volunteers, MosNews.com reported.

The volunteers, all of whom are over 18, have been selected form groups

identified as

being at high risk of contracting avian influenza, including those who work at

poultry

farms.

Over the course of the trial, which is to last five weeks, the volunteers will

be injected with

the vaccine before returning to their normal lives, periodically monitoring and

recording

their body temperature.