Tourists in Bali urged not to panic
DENPASAR – Tourists in Bali have been urged to stay away from rural areas but to remain calm after bird flu claimed its first human victim on the Indonesian island.
The deputy director of the World Health Organisation’s Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Ian Barr, said yesterday there was no need to panic.
“Most of these cases occur in villages, not in downtown Kuta or Denpasar, so I’m not sure that travellers should be too concerned,” he said.
The 29-year-old woman died from the disease on Sunday, the head of the national bird flu team, Joko Suyono, said.
Indonesia has now confirmed 82 human deaths from bird flu, and is the world’s worst affected country.
Since the H5N1 virus emerged in South East Asia in late 2003, it has claimed more than 180 lives around the world.
Almost all infected people are thought to have contracted the disease from poultry
Officials said the Balinese bird flu victim came from a village in the northwest district of Jembrana, an area where poultry are known to be affected.
The woman’s five-year-old child also died recently of similar symptoms, although the cause of her death remains unclear.
Phil Davies
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