# 442
Indonesia reports the second bird flu death today, that of a 9-year old, several hours after the death of a 20 year-old woman, bringing the total for that country to 65 fatalities.
Over the past couple of weeks, perhaps due to the flooding, we've received even less information than usual from Indonesia. The Jakarta Post is reporting these cases as if testing has already confirmed the H5N1 virus, and so for now, I will assume this is true.
UPDATE: Various news agencies are reporting that the second fatality, the 9 year old, has not been confirmed as having the H5N1 virus yet, although it is strongly suspected.
Bird flu deaths in Indonesia reach 65
JAKARTA (JP): Provincial administrations are being urged to follow Jakarta in banning backyard poultry, as two more bird flu deaths were reported Sunday in Garut regency, West Java.
A 20-year-old woman died at Slamet Hospital in Garut at about 1 a.m., followed by a 9-year old boy at 4:30 p.m.
"Let's use this as a reminder for all of us to keep poultry away from people," the director general of communicable diseases at the Health Ministry, I Nyoman Kandun, told The Jakarta Post .
"Other provincial administrations should follow the Jakarta administration in its effort to keep poultry away from people. Our message is still the same: keep poultry as far away as possible from people and homes," he said.
Kandun said the deep-rooted tradition of people living near their poultry made it difficult for the government to stop the spread of the virus from birds to humans.
