#57 and counting in Indonesia

A 35-year-old Indonesian woman died from bird flu Tuesday, bringing the country's world-leading total to 57, a health official said. The victim, from West Java, had been in Jakarta's Sulianti Saroso Hospital, which has been designated to treat patients with suspected bird flu, for nearly three weeks before succumbing to the H5N1 virus, said Tontro, an official from the Indonesian Health Ministry's bird flu information centre.

Indonesia has had 74 confirmed cases and its 57 deaths are the highest in the world. Vietnam is second with 42 deaths but has not had one this year.

Most bird flu victims globally had direct or indirect contact with sick chickens, but scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form easily transmissible among humans, sparking a global pandemic that could kill millions.

Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation, was initially criticized for its failure to adequately attack the virus in poultry, but has since been lauded for taking a more aggressive approach.

Government officials have insisted their efforts to combat the disease are on the right track, although they have admitted more needs to be done, in particular with surveillance of poultry farms to stop outbreaks, described as the key element to combating the virus.

© 2006 DPA