The children died within four hours of each other

Just when you thought that the bird flu virus was on the wane it has struck back with a vengeance killing two young children in Bali. The children who were brother and sister were age five and ten respectively, and they died two days after they were admitted to Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar.

Samples from their corpses which were sent to the Indonesian Health Ministry Research and Development Department confirmed that the children had contracted the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus. The children who died within four hours of each other were the first bird flu fatalities in over a year in Indonesia and the first for four years on Bali. 

By the time the children had got to hospital they were said to be almost unconscious and were having difficulties breathing. Despite being given the influenza medication Tamiflu it was too late and they succumbed to the virus. Tamiflu is effective as a treatment for the H5N1 bird flu virus provided that it is given soon after the virus strikes. If the Tamiflu is given within 24 hours it is especially effective but in this sad case involving these Indonesian children they were given the drug too late.

There have been many enquiries about Tamiflu in Bali following on from this case and the medical authorities confirmed that the island has 3,000 tablets of which the majority is kept in the Sanglah General Hospital.

In this case it is especially tragic that the children were not immediately taken to hospital when they started to suffer from bird flu symptoms because it is likely they could have been saved with Tamiflu. The Bali Animal Husbandry Office has been conducting tests on poultry in the area but has found no evidence yet of infected animals. Both of the children however had been in contact with many birds both dead and alive.

Almost 150 people have died from the H5N1 bird flu virus in Indonesia according to official statistics, but some people estimate that this number only tells a small part of the real picture.