Bird flu claims fifth victim (27) in Indonesia

A Indonesian woman (27) died in a Jakarta hospital today after suffering from bird flu.

A Indonesian woman (27) died in a Jakarta hospital today after suffering from bird flu.

The disease had already killed four people in the sprawling country with the world's fourth highest population.

The deputy head of the hospital designated by the government to treat patients with suspected bird flu said the woman had been admitted on Thursday.

It was unclear how the woman got the disease, but she had been in contact with chickens that died from an unknown cause. Many urban-area households in Indonesia keep livestock, especially chickens, in their yards.

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Indonesia's health ministry now puts the death toll from bird flu at six because a local test on a five-year-old girl showed positive. The girl died last week and was suspected to have carried the disease.

By World Health Organization standards, however, the final proof rests on the outcome of a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test, for which in the girl's case showed negative.

Bird flu has killed 65 people in four Asian nations since late 2003 and has been found in birds in Russia and Europe.

The virus has spread to 22 provinces out of 33 in the Indonesian archipelago, killing more than 9.5 million domesticated birds since 2003. Indonesia said this week it would cull poultry in areas where the outbreak was serious.