Asia-Pacific

Indonesia reports 2 bird flu deaths

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-18 15:45

JAKARTA - A 40-year old woman and a 35-year old man have died on bird flu recently, bringing the total fatality to 140 in the archipelago country, Health Ministry reported here Monday.

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The woman from an outskirt of Jakarta died on Sept 17 and the man from West Jakarta on Aug 27 as both of their laboratories tests showed they were positively infected by H5N1 viruses, spokesperson of the ministry Tri Trayati told Xinhua.

The confirmation has brought the total bird flu cases to 169 in Indonesia, according to the ministry.

It is not clear whether the two persons had contact with poultry, which had been the most common cause of fatality in Indonesia.

All of them died after being treated in hospital for having heavy fever and pneumonia, she said.

The cases have been reported to the World Health Organization, she said.

Indonesia had been hit, the hardest, by bird flu, but in recent years, the attacks have been slow.