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Three die of bird flu in Indonesia and China
Indonesia announced two more deaths from H5N1 bird flu yesterday and China said a teenage boy had also died from the virus which has spread to more than 50 countries, raising fears of a pandemic.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:37 May 3, 2009
Beijing: Indonesia announced two more deaths from H5N1 bird flu yesterday and China said a teenage boy had also died from the virus which has spread to more than 50 countries, raising fears of a pandemic.
The Indonesian Health Ministry said a 14-year-old boy and a 28-year-old woman had died, bringing the country's confirmed human death toll from the H5N1 virus to 71, the highest in the world. Indonesia announced three deaths on Wednesday.
The boy was from West Sumatra and died last Saturday, while the woman, from the capital, Jakarta, died on Wednesday.
In China, the 16-year-old boy from Bengbu in the rural eastern province of Anhui died late on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a provincial health official.
The confirmation of more deaths came two days after Indonesia agreed to resume sharing virus samples for research in exchange for a World Health Organisation (WHO) pledge to restrict drug company access to them.
Vaccine
The WHO and other experts say sharing samples is vital to finding ways to fight the virus, while Indonesia, Thailand and some other developing countries want to make sure they have access to human vaccines at reasonable prices.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday the world should work to create a level playing field to combat bird flu and other health threats.
The virus is endemic among fowl in many parts of Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country. Human cases generally involve contact with infected birds.
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