An Indonesian boy, two and a half years old, is reported to have died from Bird flu on Monday. He was admitted into the hospital on Sunday. The toddler from West Java province seems to have contacted the virus from a domestic fowl. With this, the death toll, due to this disease in Indonesia has risen to 56. Another woman from the same province is being treated for the disease. The two are from different towns and are not related.
Most of those affected have caught the virus from domestic fowl. The H5N1 virus is an animal virus, which started infecting humans since 2003. Since then 250 people have been infected and 150 have been killed. Indonesia has recorded the maximum number, as almost every household keeps domestic fowl.This virus might mutate into a human virus, fears WHO. The virus would then spread with ease among people and across countries resulting in a pandemic.
Source-Medindia
SRM/ASH/L
