Health officials in Jakarta have taken blood samples from the rest of the family

In a worrying development in Indonesia two members of the same family have died from the deadly H5N1 bird fu virus. The brother and sister died within 10 days of each other prompting health officials to suspect that it could be possible that the boy had passed the virus to his sister.

Initially when the boy had died it was not established that he actually had the H5N1 flu virus but after his sister became seriously ill swabs were sent to laboratories in Jarkarta and the virus was confirmed in her. Unfortunately samples have not been taken from the boy yet though it is almost certain he had the killer virus too.

The teenagers Ahmad and Istiqomah who were 15 and 16 both suffered from symptoms of coughing, high fever and fainting but they were not admitted to hospitals in time. This highlights the importance of diagnosing the bird flu virus very quickly as the best treatment for the problem is the influenza medication Tamiflu which works best within the first 48 hours of the symptoms appearing.

Health officials in Jakarta have taken blood samples from the rest of the family to make sure that they are bird flu free and have yet again highlighted the dangers of living in close proximity to poultry.

The health official said that this family lived in a very overpopulated area and chickens were bred in the vicinity. Indonesia has suffered from more bird flu cases in humans than any other nation with over 100 people dying from it and 133 actual cases since it was first identified in 2003.

The influenza medication Tamiflu is recommended by the World Health Organisation as the most effective treatment to treat the symptoms of the H5N1 bird flu virus. The Tamiflu drug has saved hundreds of people from death and in the event of a worldwide bird flu pandemic could save millions of lives.