A health ministry official confirmed that the woman in question died from bird flu on Sunday. She was being treated for high fever at a local hospital.

Avian influenza or bird flu is caused by a subtype of the H5N1 virus and affects domestic poultry as well as wild birds. The virus first made its appearance in Hong Kong in 1997 and resurfaced in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam in late 2003 and early 2004 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By late 2004 the infection was said to be under control.

But last year was a watershed in terms of human fatalities. Indonesia was the worst affected country with over 60 documented human deaths followed by Vietnam. One real fear is that if the H5N1 virus mutates to an easily transmissible from between humans, a horrific flu pandemic will result and claim millions of lives, according to scientists.

Bird flu has emerged as one of potentially lethal conditions to affect mankind in the 21st century. The condition caused by the deadly H5N1 virus has so far claimed over 192 lives globally, according to World Health Organization data.

Bird flu has become endemic in almost all of Indonesia's provinces. However the tourist island of Bali was supposed to be safe. But the bird flu death on Sunday will change all that.

The health ministry also confirmed that the woman's 5-year-old daughter had also died last week after playing with chickens. It was unclear if she had developed bird flu or not. The woman came from the district of Jembrana and died of multiple organ failure, according to Ken Wirasandi, a doctor at the Sanglah hospital in Denpasar.

Bayu Krisnamurthi, head of the national bird flu commission, revealed that measures like culling of chicken and poultry were being put into place.

Joko Suyono of the health ministry's bird flu centre said that sick chicken had been found around the woman's house and that many chicken had died under mysterious circumstances in recent weeks. "The villagers didn't burn the carcasses. Instead they buried them or fed them to pigs," Suyono added.

Currently Indonesia has had 82 confirmed human deaths from bird flu and is still trying to control the spread of the deadly disease. Bali is still trying to recover from the deadly bombing in which many tourists were killed. Tourism is one of the most lucrative industries in this part of the world.

It is feared that the presence of bird flu will further alienate potential tourists.

Experts fear if the H5N1 virus mutates to a form that is easily transmissible between humans, it could trigger a worldwide pandemic and claim millions of lives, as there is no treatment against it.

Infection in humans typically stars as fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches progressing to eye infections (conjunctivitis), pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia, and other severe and life-threatening complications, according to the CDC.

The CDC has the following tips to protect consumers from avian infection and other poultry infections:
    * Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw poultry and eggs.
    * Clean cutting boards and other utensils with soap and hot water to keep raw poultry from contaminating other foods.
    * Use a food thermometer to make sure you cook poultry to a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit Consumers may wish to cook poultry to a higher temperature for personal preference.
    * Cook eggs until whites and yolks are firm.