Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
Indonesia reports fourth bird flu death of the year
AFP News
A 12-year-old boy on the Indonesian resort island of Bali has died
from bird flu, the fourth human death from the virus this year, an
official said Saturday.
The boy developed fever on February 11 and was admitted to
hospital five days later, the Indonesian health ministry's head of
animal-borne infectious disease control, Rita Kusriastuti, told
AFP.
"He suffered shortness of breath and eventually died on February
21. Laboratory tests confirmed he died from the H5N1 virus," she
added.
Concerns about avian influenza have risen in Asia since China in
late December reported its first fatality from the H5N1 virus in
18 months.
Indonesia has been the hardest-hit by bird flu, with 150 deaths
reported between 2003 and 2011, according to the World Health
Organization.
The health ministry said on its website that 154 people had now
died of bird flu in Indonesia since 2005.
The virus typically spreads from birds to humans through direct
contact, but experts fear it could mutate into a form that is
easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to kill
millions in a pandemic.