# 1222
It has been nearly 48 hours since we received word on the death of a 30-year old woman from Tanggerrang, suspected of H5N1 infection. At the time, she'd tested positive once for bird flu, but a second test was required before declaring her a bird flu fatality. Today, the Health Ministry confirms her status, making her the 90th confirmed fatality.
Of course, the true number of bird flu fatalities is unknown. There have been numerous suspicious deaths where no testing took place.
Woman dies of bird flu, raising Indonesian death toll to 90
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- An Indonesian woman has died of bird flu after handling dead chickens, bringing the national death toll from the disease to 90, the Health Ministry said Monday.
The latest victim was a 30-year-old woman who died in an east Jakarta hospital Saturday after being treated at two other medical clinics, said Ningrum, an official with the ministry's Bird Flu Center who like many Indonesians goes by a single name.
The woman was hospitalized on Oct. 28 with flu-like symptoms and two laboratory tests confirmed she was infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of the illness, said Ningrum.
The disease remains hard for people to catch - most cases have so far been traced to contact with infected birds. But experts fear it could mutate into a form that spreads easily between humans, potentially sparking a global pandemic.
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and home to millions of backyard chickens, is considered a possible hot spot for spreading the disease.
