The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 08/12/2009 9:04 AM | National
A 4-year-old died Monday night from suspected H1N1 flu at Bandung’s Hasan Sadikin Hospital, as confirmed cases across the country rose to 771.
“The patient suffered from chronic lung disease,” Hadi Yusuf, the doctor who examined the toddler, said Tuesday as quoted by Antara.
“The child also suffered from malnutrition.”
Hospital spokesman Primal Soedjana said the child had exhibited chronic respiratory symptoms since being taken to hospital on Thursday night.
Hadi said he was still waiting for the laboratory test results to confirm whether the child’s death was caused by the H1N1 strain of the influenza A virus.
The death is the latest in a list of patients dying of suspected H1N1 infection. The Jakarta Post reported last week that at least three people had died from H1N1-like symptoms.
The number of confirmed cases is not officially at 771, including three deaths, in 21 provinces, despite the government’s attempts to stop the disease spreading.
These efforts, which include thermal checking at transit points and mandatory treatment of all suspected cases in referral hospitals, have been widely panned for their ineffectiveness.
“Thermal checking can’t detect people with the virus in the incubation phase,” Memed Zulkarnaen, communication coordinator for the Bird Flu National Committee, told the Post on Tuesday.
“And the treatment for suspected patients is very costly for the government.”
The committee is also aiding in efforts to stop the spread of the H1N1 virus.
The government has begun abandoning the previous measures, which Memed pointed
out other governments had long since dropped, and is adopting new ones.
“As in other countries, patients with mild flu symptoms can now be treated at home,” he said.
With the government still struggling to find new methods, the only effective measure to prevent the virus from spreading is to encourage people to embrace a healthy lifestyle, Memed said.
For its part, Muhammadiyah, the country’s second-biggest Islamic organization, has begun a public awareness campaign on H1N1.
“Since the H1N1 outbreak, our team has provided the public with information on H1N1,” said Sularno, head of the Muhammadiyah bird flu prevention team.
The organization has conducted campaigns on bird flu (H5N1) since 2003.
The last confirmed bird flu case was reported three months ago, raising the number of confirmed cases to 156, including 120 deaths. (mrs)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/12/toddler-dies-suspected-h1n1-cases-rise-771.html 
