JAKARTA, April 4 (RIA Novosti) - Indonesia's Health Ministry confirmed Wednesday that a 23-year-old woman had died of the H5N1 strain of avian flu.
The death raised Indonesia's bird flu death toll to 72 since 2003 when the disease first hit Asian countries. The virus has already claimed more lives in the fourth most populated nation than in any other country.
A total of 92 people have been infected with the virus in Indonesia, with 65 of the cases reported in the west of Java with a population of about 160 million people. Fifty-four people died of bird flu in West Java, Banten and Jakarta.
Scientists fear the H5N1 strain could mutate into a form that easily spreads among people, sparking a pandemic across the world.
