Belendung: An Indonesian cargo worker died of bird flu, relatives confirmed on Thursday, raising the unofficial toll in the world's hardest hit nation to 111.
The government recently started delaying announcements about bird flu fatalities, sometimes by several weeks. But a member of the national bird flu commission confirmed that the cargo worker died of bird flu.
Asnawi Sandri, a 38-year-old father of two, died in the hospital on July 10, days after he came down with symptoms of the disease, including high fever, coughing and breathing difficulties, said Abdul Kadir, his brother-in-law.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 243 people worldwide since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003, according to the World Health Organisation.
The disease remains hard for humans to catch, with most cases linked to contact with infected birds. But scientists worry the virus could mutate to a form that spreads more easily among people, triggering a pandemic that could kill millions worldwide.
