(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-21 20:39

JAKARTA - Five people including two children were admitted to a bird flu specialist hospital in Jakarta Friday, raising concerns that human cases of the disease could grow to a record 119 in an individual country.

The five patients were transferred to the Persahabatan Hospital here from a small hospital in the town of Serang in Banten province after they showed clear signs of bird flu symptoms, such as respiratory problems, heavy coughs and high fever.

The national Antara news agency said the bird flu suspicions arose after health officials learned that 60 chickens and ducks in their village died from the virus as confirmed by laboratory tests.

Contact with infected chickens is the most common cause of bird flu in human in Indonesia, where 92 people died from the H5N1 virus, the highest among bird-flu affected countries.

The five patients, aged between 8 and 30, are from the same extended family.