From foodconsumer.org
Indonesia confirms 12th human case of bird flu
By Sue Mueller
Nov 26, 2005, 18:03
Indonesia health officials recently confirmed its 12th human case of avian flu, involving a 16-year-old boy who tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. So far, seven people in Indonesia have been killed by the virus.
Hariadi Wibisono, a senior Health Ministry official, said the teenager, who lives in the town of Bandung, around 90 miles south of Jakarta, probably had contact with infected chickens, ABC NEWS reports.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Health Ministry says it is working to produce Tamiflu within five months so that the country gets ready early for a possible spread of the disease among humans. The drug is viewed as the best available treatment for bird flu.
Indonesia says it hopes to stockpile enough Tamiflu to cover the needs of ten percent of its population. Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation, has stocked 800,000 tablets while it plans to have 200 million in stock. Roche said Indonesia could make the medication, as long as it was not exported.
Taiwan has also said it would manufacture Tamiflu if stocks supplied by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche could not meet the demand. Roche and Taiwan have not reached any licensing agreement. Roche said it wouldd be more costly for Taiwanese companies to produce the drug.
© 2004-2005 by foodconsumer.org unless otherwise specified.