Death of woman, 31, brings Indonesia bird flu toll to 163

A 31-year-old housewife from Bekasi Timur, just east of Jakarta, has died from bird flu, bringing the death toll to 163 in the country hardest-hit by the virus.

The housewife from Bekasi Timur, a West Java district just east of Jakarta, died last week from the H5N1 bird flu virus, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

An investigation by the ministry found that the woman, who first developed symptoms of fever and nausea on 1 November, had possible contact with poultry around her house.

The woman died on 11 November when she was about to be transferred to special hospital assigned to treat bird flu, the ministry said.

She is the third Indonesian to die this year from the virus. The first two were a 2-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man, who died in June and September respectively in other districts of Bekasi.

AP