Posted: 21 February 2012 1832 hrs
JAKARTA - Tests on a
19-year-old woman who died last week showed she had contracted the bird flu
virus, Indonesia's third human death from the deadly virus this year, the health
ministry said Tuesday.
Concerns about avian influenza have risen in the
region with China, Cambodia and Vietnam all reporting deaths from the H5N1 virus
this year.
The latest Indonesian victim died on February 13, a day after
being admitted to a hospital in Tangerang district on the outskirts of the
capital Jakarta, the ministry said.
Tests on the victim after she died
confirmed she had contracted the virus, but a health ministry team that surveyed
her house and neighbourhood was unable to determine its source.
The
ministry added the woman had a fever for four days before arriving at the
hospital.
Indonesia recorded two fatalities in Jakarta in January. The
country has been the hardest-hit by bird flu, with 150 deaths reported between
2003 and 2011, according to the World Health Organization.
Nine
Indonesians died from the virus last year, including two children on the resort
island of Bali in October, according to authorities.
The virus typically
spreads from birds to humans through direct contact, but experts fear it could
mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to
kill millions in a pandemic. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1184288/1/.html
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