Indonesia's Bird Flu Deaths Hit 48
Pastor Dale Morgan
Indonesia's Bird Flu Deaths Hit 48*
The Associated Press
Friday, September 8, 2006; 10:33 PM
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The World Health Organization has confirmed two
more cases of bird flu in Indonesia, one of them fatal, bringing the
country's death toll from the virus to 48.
The cases, which occurred last year, were added to the WHO tally because
of a recent change in the testing standards that the body sets for cases
of the H5N1 virus. They were already included in Indonesia's Health
Ministry tally.
"WHO is adding two cases in Indonesia, dating back to June and November
of 2005," the WHO said in a statement received Saturday. "The
retrospectively confirmed cases bring the total in Indonesia to 63. Of
these cases, 48 have been fatal."
Nearly all the people who have been infected had close contact with sick
birds or their droppings. However, scientists fear the virus could
mutate into a form that is spread easily among humans.