JAKARTA : An Indonesian woman has died of bird flu, bringing the country's death toll from the disease to 59, a hospital official said Friday.

The 37-year-old woman died Thursday evening, Muktar Iksan, a doctor at the Persahabatan hospital in Jakarta, told AFP.

A government health official said she fell ill after cooking and eating a chicken she had bought live at a local market on December 30.

She sought treatment at various clinics but was only hospitalized on January 6 and moved to the Persahabatan hospital on January 8.

Indonesia has recorded 59 confirmed bird flu deaths, the highest in the world so far.

The H5N1 virus strain of the bird flu has killed more than 150 people worldwide since late 2003 and triggered the mass slaughter of tens of millions of poultry.

There are also fears it could mutate into a form that could cause a human
flu pandemic.

Indonesia's officials had said their strategy of vaccinating poultry and increasing public awareness appeared to be paying off and they were aiming at zero cases of human bird flu this year. - AFP/ch