24 October 2005

The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand has confirmed an additional case of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza. The patient, a 7-year-old boy from Kanchanaburi Province, developed symptoms on 16 October and was hospitalized on 19 October. He is recovering. He is the son of a confirmed case who died on 19 October.

These are the first two confirmed cases in Thailand in a year. Since the start of the outbreaks in Asia, Thailand has confirmed 19 cases, of which 13 have been fatal.

Indonesia

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed two additional cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza.

The first newly confirmed case is a four-year-old boy from Sumatra Island in Lampung Province. He developed symptoms on 4 October, was hospitalized, recovered fully, and has returned home.

This case is the nephew of the 21-year-old man from Lampung, who was reported on 10 October 2005. Although the two cases are related and lived in the same neighbourhood, human-to-human transmission is considered unlikely.

The second newly confirmed case was a 23-year-old man from Bogor, West Java. He was hospitalized on 28 September and died on 30 September.

Epidemiological investigations uncovered exposure to infected poultry as the likely source of infection in both cases.

To date, Indonesia has reported 7 human cases of H5N1 avian influenza. Four of these cases were fatal.