Indonesian woman dies of bird flu in Bali

An Indonesian woman died of bird flu over the weekend on the resort island of Bali, preliminary tests

have showed.

If confirmed, it will be the first time the H5N1 virus has killed on the popular holiday destination, although the disease has long been endemic in poultry flocks.

It would bring the number of Indonesian fatalities to 82 out of 103 recorded cases.

“Results of testing by the ministry’s laboratory came back positive for the 29-year-old woman,” said Nyoman Kandun, a senior Health Ministry official.

The infection has not yet been confirmed by a second round of testing.

At least 192 people have died worldwide from the disease since it first infected Asian ducks and chickens in 2003, according to the World Health Organisation, the majority of them in Indonesia.

The virus remains hard for people to catch, but experts fear it will mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans, potentially sparking a pandemic.

So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with infected birds.