Bird Flu Center

A 44-year old man is suspected to have died following an infection with the bird flu virus. The man was hospitalized for two days with high fever, severe coughing and breathing difficulties and died on July 12th. Health officials now believe his death might not have been due to a simple flu, but to the feared avian influenza virus, which has badly hit the Asian country. Tests by a local laboratory await a confirmation by a World Health Organization inquiry into the case. Apparently the H5N1 strain of the virus was the source of infection on the man originating from an eastern outskirt of the capital city, Jakarta. He reportedly had contacts with birds, another reason to believe the avian flu caused the disease. This could make Indonesia the hardest hit country in the world, as only Vietnam has reported a similarly large death toll so far. World wide, at least 132 people have died from the virus, since it has started ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. Most human cases are linked with a close contact to birds, but the greatest fear is that the virus could mutate into a form easily transmittable among humans. Indonesia is likely to record more cases, as its government says it cannot afford to cull domestic fowl in regions where bird flu is detected. This measures, applied aggressively in Vietnam, has led to the country not recording any new cases in humans this year.