Indonesian Boy Dies of Bird Flu
Pastor Dale Morgan
Indonesian Boy Dies of Bird Flu
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The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 10, 2007; 4:49 AM
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A 14-year-old Indonesian boy died from bird flu
Wednesday, just days after being hospitalized, a health official said.
It was the first H5N1 fatality in the country in six weeks.
Deputy Director Tjandra Yoga Aditama of the Persahabtan Hospital said
the boy died four days after being admitted for treatment with flu-like
symptoms.
The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has now killed 58 people in Indonesia _
more than a third of the world's total _ since the disease began
ravaging Asian poultry stocks in 2003.
The last recorded bird flu casualty in Indonesian was a 35-year-old
woman who died at a hospital in the capital, Jakarta, on Nov. 28.
There had also been a lapse in new infections until two people
contracted the disease earlier this week.
International experts have accused Indonesia's government of not doing
enough to tackle the virus, which they fear may mutate into a form that
could spread easily between humans and potentially kill millions around
the world.
However, the number of infections and deaths has dropped sharply in the
past three months _ a situation partly attributed to a national campaign
to increase public awareness and vaccinate poultry.