Jakarta-area woman dies of brid flu, raising Indonesia's toll to 103

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A Jakarta-area woman died of bird flu on the weekend, raising Indonesia's death toll from the disease to 103.

Health officials identified the victim as a 29-year-old housewife from Tangerang, on the western outskirts of Jakarta.

A Health Ministry official says she died in Persahabatan Hospital on Saturday, six days after developing symptoms.

The woman had reportedly visited her parents, whose neighbours keep chickens.

However, it was unclear whether the chickens were infected.

Meanwhile, a 38-year-old woman from Kali Deres, the Jakarta neighbourhood closest to Tangerang, has also been confirmed as being infected with bird flu and is being treated at the same hospital.

Indonesia has recorded human bird flu deaths regularly since the virus began ravaging poultry stocks across Asia in 2003.

So far human-to-human transmission of the disease has been rare, but scientists are worried that could change if the virus mutates in certain ways.

Scientists have warned that Indonesia, which has millions of backyard chickens and poor medical facilities, is a potential hot spot for incubating a global bird flu pandemic.

Source: The Canadian Press