Indonesia reaches 50 bird flu victims
September 23rd, 2006
An 11 year old boy that died on Monday has become Indonesia’s 50th avian influenza victim, as it was confirmed that he had been infected with the H5N1 virus. This number is the highest in the world, as the country has long surpassed Vietnam as the world’s worst affected state by the disease. The boy lived in the densely populated East Java province and had previously had contact with diseased poultry. Later on, he developed fever, cough and breathing difficulties, before eventually succumbing to the disease two days later. Results from two laboratories were required to officially confirm this case to the World Health Organization.