March 12, 2007

Indonesian woman reported dead from bird flu is alive
 

A 20-year-old Indonesian woman was in critical condition on Monday after contracting bird flu, a Health Ministry official said.

The victim was confirmed to have the virus on Sunday, said Erna Tresnaningsih, director of animal-borne diseases at the ministry.

She was being treated at a hospital in East Java province, she said.

Tresnaningsih earlier said the woman had died, a mistake she blamed on an incorrect report from the hospital.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has prompted the slaughter of millions of birds across Asia since late 2003, and caused the deaths of at least 168 people worldwide, more than a third of them in Indonesia, according to the World Health Organization.

Most people who died so far had contact with sick domestic fowl, and the virus remains hard for humans to catch. But experts fear it could mutate into a form that easily spreads among humans, possibly sparking a global pandemic with the potential to kill millions.