Indonesian man dies of bird flu, raising country's death toll to 65

Indonesian man dies of bird flu, raising country's death toll to 65

A 32-year-old man from Indonesia's capital died of bird flu, a health official said Friday, raising the death toll in the country worst hit by the virus to 65.

The victim died in a Jakarta hospital on Thursday, said Nyoman Kandun of the health ministry, adding that it was not immediately clear how he contracted the illness, reports AP.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has prompted the slaughter of millions of birds across Asia since late 2003, and caused the deaths of at least 168 people worldwide, more than a third of them in Indonesia, according to the World Health Organization.