Indonesia confirms fourth human bird flu death
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-09-16 10:36

Indonesia said on Friday tests had shown bird flu killed a woman who died last week in a Jakarta hospital after she was admitted suffering from pneumonia and flu-like respiratory problems.

The woman is Indonesia's fourth human death from the virus.

"It's positive for H5N1," I Nyoman Kandun, director-general of disease control at the Health Ministry, told Reuters, referring to the virus.

Indonesia's health minister is expected to hold a news conference later on Friday to discuss the results, which had been confirmed by a laboratory in Hong Kong.

"Our task now as the government is to make sure the public do not panic. Just like when we get a bomb threat, we need to avoid panic. Up until now, there is no proof that there is human-to-human transfer," Kandun said.

The H5N1 strain has killed 64 people in Asia since late 2003.

The woman, 37, died last Saturday. She lived in south Jakarta near a chicken farm, although health officials have not said how she may have caught the virus.

United Nations health authorities have said more cases could be expected in Indonesia.

The government has launched a vaccination drive for poultry but carried out only limited culling because it does not have enough money to compensate farmers and more than half of all chickens in Indonesia are kept in backyards.

The virus has spread to 22 provinces out of 33 in the sprawling archipelago, killing more than 9.5 million poultry since late 2003.

In July, Indonesia confirmed its first human casualties of H5N1 -- a father and his two young daughters in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta. But authorities could not pinpoint the source that infected the family.