KUALA LUMPUR: A 17-year-old boy died of bird flu on Indonesia's Lombok island, bringing the death toll from the disease to six this year, the Health Ministry said Tuesday. The boy died March 9 after an outbreak of bird flu in poultry in his neighbourhood, said Rita Kusriastuti, ministry director for vector-borne disease control. Indonesia is the country hardest hit by bird flu. Before the latest death, Indonesia had 155 fatalities from 186 confirmed cases since 2005, according to the World Health Organization. One health ministry official told Bikyamasr.com that they are “worried that people are not following our guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus and that it is continuing to hit people.” In early March, a woman died of bird flu on Indonesia's Sumatra island, bringing the death toll from the disease to five this year, a Health Ministry official said Wednesday. The woman died on March 1 in a hospital in Bnegkulu province, said Rita Kusriastuti, ministry director for vector-borne disease control. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/vOQpq Tags: Bird flu, Death, featured, Indonesia, Outbreak Section: Health, Latest News, Southeast Asia
