Patient 7 Died on the Lam

Bloomberg reports on the ominous details of the seventh case from the bird flu cluster in Sumatra:

It's less clear how [Patient 7] Ginting's son was infected, Dick Thompson, leader of the WHO's pandemic and outbreak communications team, said by phone yesterday from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. Based on neighbors' accounts, it's possible the boy entered his aunt's house during her illness, he said.
Ginting helped care for his 10-year-old son at the Adam Malik Hospital in Medan up until the boy's death on May 13, the WHO said. Two days later, after returning to his home in Kubu Sembelang, Ginting began coughing.
Ginting was examined three days later by local health-care workers, who observed avian flu-like symptoms. The WHO's Grein recommended on May 18 that he be isolated and treated in the hospital with the Roche Holding AG antiviral drug, Tamiflu.
Instead Ginting fled local health authorities and sought care from a witch doctor, I Nyoman Kandun, director general of disease control with the Indonesian Health Ministry, told reporters in Jakarta on May 22.
Disease trackers located Ginting late on May 21 in a nearby village. Blood samples and swabs of his nose and throat for viral particles were taken that day and flown to a laboratory in Jakarta. Ginting died the following day after tests confirmed he had H5N1, the WHO said on May 23.

For the difficult choice between Tamiflu and Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang, PlagueBlog endorses the Tamiflu. But wait, it gets so much worse:

Dozens of poultry farmers and sellers from the deceased man's district slaughtered chickens and drank the blood in Medan on 22 May in a demonstration of their frustration at being branded by authorities as having been infected with avian flu. Footage of the protests was broadcast on Trans TV television.
The Sumatra experience shows the government and international health authorities need to do a better job educating communities and garnering their trust, said Cheng. The deceased man's wife highlighted the family's suspicion and lack of understanding when she said in a 17 May interview that she believed Tamiflu poisoned her son.

PlagueBlog recommends cooking chicken blood thoroughly before drinking it, especially in areas where avian influenza is endemic.