The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Health Ministry has confirmed that a West Jakarta shop attendant died of the bird flu Friday, increasing the country's human death toll from the virus to 86.
Ministry spokeswoman Lily Sulistyawati said test results for the latest bird flu victim, AR, were released Monday.
Indonesia has the highest number of human bird flu infections in the world, at 107.
The latest victim, 21-year-old AR, was admitted to Sumber Waras Hospital, West Jakarta on Sept. 25 with respiratory problems. Two days later he was moved to the intensive care unit.
""AR spent a week at home before being admitted to the hospital because the onset of the infection is like a common cold. His respiratory problems began on Sept. 18.
""He must have been in a bad condition when he was eventually hospitalized,"" Lily said.
Of the country's 86 human fatalities, 26 have been from Greater Jakarta.
It is believed AR caught the H5N1 virus from infected poultry.
Officials from the Health Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry were immediately deployed to AR's neighborhood in Basmol housing complex, Rawa Buaya, West Jakarta, to conduct blood tests on AR's immediate family members and neighbors and to search for infected poultry.
""AR was a shop attendant and did not keep chickens in his backyard. There was such a small risk of him contracting the bird flu but our team is now checking the neighborhood for the source of the virus,"" the official said.
Head of West Jakarta's Animal Health and Husbandry Agency Chaidir Taufiq said AR worked at a shop in Rawa Buaya market where live chickens were sold nearby.
AR's neighbors had also kept chickens in their backyards.
""Many of the chickens were recently bought in preparation for the Idul Fitri holiday,"" Chaidir said.
Following outbreaks of bird flu in the city earlier this year, Jakarta issued an ordinance banning people from keeping backyard poultry in January. The ordinance also made health certificates mandatory for pet birds.
The regulation, and the administration's inconsistency in imposing it, received a cold reception from the public. Officials, however, said the massive flood that hit Jakarta in February had caused a shift in priorities from imposing the ordinance to tackling the flood.
Chaidir said it remained a challenge for his agency to clear backyard poultry from housing areas in West Jakarta, as people who kept chickens were mostly from low-income families.
""It's really hard to tell people they are not allowed to keep chickens in housing areas. Many say the chickens are like their savings, which can be sold anytime they need cash.""
Originally a poultry disease, the H5N1 virus was first reported to infect humans in 1995 in Hong Kong. Indonesia first reported human infections in 2005. Simple measures like washing hands and other good sanitary habits are the most effective ways to prevent the infection.
Bird flu infections in humans
No Province Cases Deaths
1. West Java 29 23
2. Jakarta 26 23
3. Banten 14 12
4. North Sumatra 8 7
5. East Java 7 5
6. Central Java 9 8
7. Lampung 3 -
8. South Sulawesi 1 1
9. West Sumatra 3 1
10. South Sumatra 1 1
11. Riau 4 3
12. Bali 2 2
Total 107 86
Source: Health Ministry
