4 die of bird flu as toll in Indonesia rises to 119

  • 03/03/2009

  • International Herald Tribune (Bangkok)

Four Indonesians have died of bird flu, raising the death toll in the country hardest hit by the disease to 119, an official said Tuesday. Bayu Krisnamurthi, chief of the National Bird Flu Commission, said all the victims were believed to have been infected after coming into contact with sick poultry. They were from the island of Java and died in January and February. Indonesia, which has been criticized in recent months for refusing to disclose news of human deaths immediately and in some cases hushing them up altogether, has been hit hard by bird flu since it started ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. Health experts worry that the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily among humans.