Indonesia's bird flu death toll reaches 59
Jan 12, 2007 - 2:40:42 PM
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On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy from a West Java village died at the same hospital from the virus.
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By DPA,
[RxPG] Jakarta, Jan 12 - A 37-year-old Indonesian woman who cooked and ate a sick chicken has died from bird flu, becoming the country's 59th victim and second this year, a health official said Friday.
The woman, identified as Riyah, was a chicken vendor in West Jakarta and ate one of her own birds Dec 30, said Runizar Ruesin, an official at the Indonesian health ministry's bird flu information centre.
She was taken to a Jakarta hospital Jan 5 and was in a serious condition with the H5N1 avian influenza virus before dying late Thursday, Ruesin said. 'It's confirmed it was bird flu,' the official added.
On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy from a West Java village died at the same hospital from the virus.
Most bird flu victims globally had direct or indirect contact with sick birds, but scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form easily transmissible among humans, sparking a global pandemic that could kill millions.
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