# 2715
There's been a good deal of chatter overnight in the Indonesian and International media regarding a suspected bird flu fatality over the weekend- that of a 21 year old woman from East Java.
The Indonesian government has a stated policy of not confirming human bird flu cases in `real time', instead they provide aggregate totals every couple of months. Therefore, it may be some time before we get official word on this case.
This report from APF.
'Indonesian woman dies of suspected bird flu'
January 28 2009 at 08:08AM
Jakarta - A 21-year-old Indonesian woman has died of suspected bird flu, a doctor said on Wednesday.
The woman died on Saturday in Doctor Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya, East Java, after showing bird flu symptoms, said Palilingan, a doctor in the hospital's avian flu team who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.
"She had breathing difficulties, high fever and lost consciousness," Palilingan said.
He said the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus would have to be confirmed after testing of tissue samples.
Two positive results are needed before Indonesian authorities confirm a human bird flu infection.
A health ministry spokesperson said the ministry had sent experts to check on the condition of poultry in the woman's village in Tulungagung district, East Java.
