Health News
Two Indonesians die of bird flu, bringing death toll to 115
Jan 21, 2009, 10:32 GMT
Jakarta - Two Indonesians have died of bird flu, the health ministry said Wednesday, bringing the death toll from the disease in the country to 115.
A 29-year-old woman from Tangerang, 40 kilometres west of the capital Jakarta, died on December 16 and tests showed that she was infected with the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Website.
On January 2 a 5-year-old girl from Bekasi, 30 kilometres east of Jakarta, died of bird flu after being treated in hospital since December, the ministry said.
The ministry said the girl was taken to a market by her parents to buy chicken and fell ill afterward.
A cat in her house also died after eating the chicken, the statement said.
The latest deaths bring the bird flu death toll in Indonesia to 115, making Indonesia the country's worst hit by the disease.
Since last year Indonesia has stopped announcing deaths from bird flu on a case-by-case basis and instead reported them every few months.
The most common way to contract the virus is through human contact with infected fowl.
Bird flu remains chiefly an animal disease, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that could transmit between humans and spark a pandemic that could kill millions around the world.
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