A medical team at RSUD Arifin Achmad public hospital in Pekanbaru, Riau, has succeeded in saving the life of Annisa, 4, from bird flu.

Now the hospital is currently struggling to save another H5N1 suspect Jefri, 17,  from  a life-threatening condition.

Team coordinator Azizman Saad said that Annisa was declared bird flu positive based on the results of laboratory tests by the Health Ministry’s Research and Development Agency last week.

“But the patient had already been cured from the disease even before we received the laboratory test result,” Azizman told The Jakarta Post, on Sunday.

Azizman said Annisa had recovered and was now in a  normal condition having been declared healthy clinically since her body temperature as well as other key  indicators including blood count and white cell count were now back to normal. “She can communicate normally, too,” he said.

Previously, according to Azizman, the only daughter of oil palm farmer Dharmadi, 30, and his wife Irmawaty, 25, of Sungai Lalak subdistrict, Sungai Lalak district, Indragiri Hulu regency, had suffered from a high fever of up to 40° Celsius and had experienced significant respiratory problems.

She had to be isolated as the flu-like symptoms occurred after she had physical contact with a dead chicken in her backyard.

“The team of doctors actually had allowed her to go home. Yet, as she has [since then] been declared bird flu positive, this was cancelled,” Azizman said.

He added that Annisa, however, had been moved from the isolation room to the ordinary ward just for observation purposes. She no longer needed help from a respiratory  device and has been allowed to have porridge and warm tea.

With Annisa’s recovery, Azizman said, there were so far a total of three patients that were probably saved from bird flu since the disease reached the province in 2005. Of the two previous cases of recovery from bird flu, one was from Siak and the other was from Pekanbaru. Six other bird flu positive patients had unfortunately died during the same period.

“The three [who were saved] were cured because of quick and correct treatment” he said.

Meanwhile, he said, Jefri’s condition was getting worse. He is currently being treated in an isolation room. The student of a high school in Painan, West Sumatra, was declared a bird flu suspect because he has up a fever with a temperature of up to 37.5° Celsius and respiratory problems.

He is taking 60 breaths a minute, while a healthy person normally takes between 16 and 20 breaths per minute. His blood count and white cell count levels are very low, 8,000 and 5,000 consecutively while the normal levels are 100,000 and 10,000 respectively.

“A family member said he lost consciousness since Friday after experiencing high fever, respiratory difficulties and diarrhea,” he said.

He added that Jefri was referred to  the  RSUD Arifin Achmad public hospital the following day after being treated previously at a private hospital in Pekanbaru.

“He is still in a comma and survives only with the help of a ventilator. We regret that the patient was only brought here when his condition was already so critical,” Azizman said.

Azizman also said that the provincial Health Agency has sent the samples of the patient’s blood and phlegm for a laboratory test to the Health Ministry’s Research and Development Agency in Jakarta and was now awaiting the results.

“We have not yet any knowledge  of  a history of contact with poultry as he normally stays in West Sumatra and is only in Pekanbaru for the school holidays.

“His family reported that there were no poultry in their neighborhood,” he added.

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