Indonesia bird flu deaths hit 100

Jakarta – Muharram 21, 1429/ January 29, 2008 – The human death toll from bird flu in Indonesia, the most populated Muslim country, has risen to 100 - almost half of the total worldwide fatalities. The H5N1 bird flu virus killed a 9-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman from the outskirts of Jakarta, said Joko Suyono of the National Bird Flu Center. The boy fell ill January 16 and died on Sunday in Jakarta after testing positive. The woman developed symptoms January 19 and died in a hospital. "The total number of deaths is now 100 out of 124 positive cases," Suyono told AFP. Two other Indonesians in their 30s, who also tested positive, were being treated in the capital, Suyono said.

Indonesia is the nation worst affected by bird flu and has struggled to contain the virus. Indonesia has recorded nearly half of the 222 human deaths from bird flu detected worldwide since the virus began decimating poultry stocks in late 2003. Indonesia is one of the only countries to log human deaths year-round. Almost all infected people are thought to have contracted the disease from poultry. But scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form which could be easily passed from human to human, triggering a pandemic and potentially putting millions of lives at risk.

Bird flu typically flares during the winter months, and a number of countries have recently reported fresh outbreaks in poultry. India has recorded its worst-ever outbreak, and officials are scrambling to slaughter birds to try to stop the virus from spreading into Calcutta, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal. More than 1.6 million birds have been slaughtered since mid-January, state Animal Husbandry Minister Anisur Rahman said. Skittish officials in neighboring Bangladesh ordered the halt of all egg and poultry imports from India.

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