A dramatic rise in the number of deaths at St. Carolus Hospital in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, in October and November was caused by an unknown disease characterized by a high fever, which usually led to the patient's death within three days of its onset.
"In some instances - not always - respiratory organs were affected," I Nyoman Kandun, head of the health ministry's communicable diseases control center, said in an interview.
The latest case was registered November 27, but until now the outbreak has not raised concerns about the emergence of a new, potentially lethal infection similar to last year's avian flu epidemic, which killed more people in Indonesia than in any other country of the Asian-Pacific region.
Kandun said health experts checked the hospital and patients' homes, and ruled out all possible widespread viruses, such as AIDS, avian and human flu, SARS, dengue fever, Ebola fever and others.
Blood samples taken from those affected have been sent for tests to the U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
The official said that although the outbreak had been contained and had not turned into an epidemic, there was no guarantee that it would not recur.
He said ministry officials were keeping the St. Carolus clinic under close scrutiny, and were trying to identify the pathogen involved. Other hospitals in Jakarta have enhanced preventive measures.
