Indonesian teenager dies of bird flu

A 15-year-old Indonesian girl has died of bird flu in central Java, a health official said on Wednesday, bringing the country’s death toll from the disease to 113.

The girl died last week after being treated at the Doctor Karyadi hospital in Semarang.

“It has been confirmed by health ministry labs,” said Agus Suryanto, the head of the medical team treating the girl.

Including the latest death, the virus has now infected 388 people in 15 countries, killing 246 of them, according to data from the World Health Organization.

Indonesia has the highest toll of any nation.

Although bird flu remains an animal disease, experts fear that the virus might mutate into a form easily passed from human to human, sparking a pandemic in which case millions could die.

JAKARTA (Reuters)

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