December 13, 2005

WHO lab confirms ninth bird flu death in Indonesia
 

The World Health Organization laboratory in Hong Kong has confirmed Indonesia's ninth bird-flu death, a man who died in the capital Jakarta last month, a senior health ministry official said Tuesday.

"I have just received confirmation from Hong Kong," said Hariadi Wibisono.

He said the man, identified only by his initials A.R., had a history of contact with poultry, but gave no more details.

Five other people have contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus but survived in Indonesia, according to WHO.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has ravaged poultry stocks across Asia since 2003, and jumped to humans killing at least 70, most of them in Vietnam.

Almost all human cases of the disease have been traced to contact with infected birds. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily between people, sparking a pandemic.