'Bird Flu' Kills Boy in Indonesia
December 19, 2005
From BBC Health - December 19, 2005 06:31
Health officials investigate after a boy aged eight reportedly dies of bird flu in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.
A boy aged eight has died of bird flu in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, the country's health ministry reports.
The World Health Organization has yet to confirm the cause of death which, if it is the H5N1 strain, would bring the country's death toll to 10.
Tests will be carried out at a WHO laboratory in Hong Kong which has dealt with previous Indonesian cases.
But Indonesian health official Hariadi Wibisono told reporters the child had tested positive for bird flu.
Besides the boy, Indonesia is awaiting confirmation on a man aged 39 who also died from the virus, according to local tests.
The virus has killed more than 70 people in Asia since it was identified in 2003, most of them in Vietnam and Thailand.
