Indonesian health officials have confirmed the death of one person in Bali from bird flu, the first case on the Indonesian island.

Indonesia's National Bird Flu Commission confirmed a 29-year-old woman died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu on Sunday. This is the first time the dreaded disease has been transmitted to a human in Bali.

As it is, Indonesia is the hardest affected country in the world when it comes to bird flu. As many as 82 persons have died. The Balinese woman’s five-year-old daughter presented symptoms similar to her mother’s. She died a week earlier but the causes of her death are still unclear.

According to media reports, health officials are waiting for test results that will or will not confirm the presence of H5N1 in a 2-year-old from the same Balinese village as the deceased woman, Jembrana.

Officials said dead chickens were found around the woman’s home, which could well be the source of the disease. Experts think the people infected thus far contracted the disease from poultry.

The virus’s mutation to a form transmissible amongst humans could lead to a pandemic. The possibilities of containing it, once the outbreak occurs, are slim, particularly since there is no vaccine yet. Scientists are still developing a pre-endemic vaccine.

Joko Suyono, from the National Bird Flu center in Jakarta, told reporters that the villagers fed the dead chickens to their pigs rather than incinerate them, thus putting themselves at risk.

Bali’s poultry has been suffering from bird flu since 2003. It would seem though from these recent developments that the island’s human population has not paid much heed to health warning from officials.

The woman’s death could have a negative impact on the island’s tourism, although officials say the situation is well under control.