Bird flu kills ninth victim in Indonesia

Bird flu has killed a 37-year-old man in central Indonesia, the country’s ninth fatality this year, the health ministry said.

The ministry’s website said the man died on July 30 in Yogyakarta province after being in hospital for five days.

It confirmed that the man, who lived near a chicken slaughterhouse, was infected with the H5N1 virus after apparently coming into contact with sick birds.

The virus, which began ravaging poultry across Asia in 2003, remains entrenched in Indonesia.

Experts fear it could mutate into a form that passes easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.

Most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds.