Indonesia records 54th bird flu death

Indonesia confirmed Monday a 67- year-old woman who had contracted avian influenza and hospitalized in West Java province died Sunday night.

The death put the total fatality of H5N1 virus to 54 out of 71 cases in Indonesia, according to the anti-bird flu center of the Health Ministry.

The official in charge of center told Xinhua that the woman had a history of contacts with fowl before she was rushed to the Hasan sadikin hospital in the province.

Indonesia, which has been hit the hardest by the bird flu in Asia has become one of the front lines in the fighting against the H5N1 virus.

Millions of people could be killed should the highly pathogenic H5N1 mutate into a certain level, which can make it transmittable among humans.

The huge territory, backyard-centered farming and relatively lack of budget have hampered the authorities in Indonesia to fight avian influenza.

Asia has been hit the hardest by the bird flu with 132 out the 147 human deaths since 2003 when the disease occurred in East Asian countries, according to the data from the World Bank.

Source: Xinhua