Indonesian Bird Flu Death Toll Hits 59

An Indonesian man collects chickens to be sold at a chicken farm Friday Jan. 12, 2007, in central Jakarta, Indonesia. An Indonesian woman died from bird flu while a second was in critical condition on Friday, as the country worst hit by the virus battled new cases following a six-week lull, health officials said. A teenage boy was killed earlier this week.(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana) (Tatan Syuflana - AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- One of two Indonesian women diagnosed with bird flu died and the other was reported in critical condition on Friday, part of a new spate of cases ending a lull in the country where the virus has claimed the most lives.

A teenage boy also died of the disease earlier in the week, the first fatality in six weeks.

The deaths brought the number of people killed by bird flu in Indonesia to at least 59 since the virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in 2003. The Indonesian deaths account for more than a third of the world's total.

"Indonesia has been on the right track in handling the bird flu, but the danger still exists," said Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of the country's bird flu commission.

All three cases occurred in the industrial town of Tangerang to the west of the capital, Jakarta.

The 37-year-old woman died late Thursday in a Jakarta hospital that is also treating her husband and 18-year-old son for symptoms of the H5N1 virus, said Haris Sugiantoro of the Health Ministry's bird flu information center.

Tests have confirmed that a 22-year-old woman also is suffering from the virus, said Joko Suyono, another official at the center. Neighbors said they saw her pick up a chicken that had died nearby.

"She is now in critical condition in an intensive care unit of the hospital," Suyono said.

On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy also from Tangerang died after being treated for four days at the same hospital. His death ended a pause that had led Indonesian officials to say they were making progress in the fight against the disease.

The virus remains hard for humans to catch and kills a tiny percentage of the hundreds of thousands of people who die each year in developing countries from easily preventable diseases.

But international experts fear it may mutate into a form that could spread easily between humans and potentially kill millions around the world.