Fear of Indonesian human cluster downplayed even as 17 get sick

Fear of a human cluster grew in West Javan village of Cikelet, Indonesia when a mother and daughter died. The woman was diagnosed with bird flu, but her daughter died before she was tested. A third unrelated child was also diagnosed with the flu, the 60th infected in a country where already 46 have died.

Reuters AlertNet reports that these three are among the 18 sick people suspected of avian influenza, and residents from the area have received Tamiflu . But WHO officials are saying that their investigation has found no evidence of human-to-human transmission or that the virus is spreading more easily from birds to humans. 

Excerpt of statement in the WHO Avian Influenza site:

Prior to late June 2006, no mass die-offs of poultry are known to have occurred in the area. At that time, live chickens were purchased from an outside market in preparation for a religious feast and were integrated into local flocks. Shortly thereafter, chickens began dying in large numbers in an outbreak that continued throughout July and the first week of August, gradually spreading from one hamlet to another.

As the population had no experience with this disease, high-risk behaviours commonly occurred during the disposal of carcasses or the preparation of sick or dead birds for consumption. These exposures are, at present, thought to be the source of infection for most confirmed or suspected cases.

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