Indonesian woman dies in suspected bird flu case

JAKARTA - A 27-year-old Indonesian woman died in a Jakarta hospital on Monday after suffering from suspected bird flu, a doctor said.

Sardikin Giriputro, deputy head of the hospital designated by the government to treat patients with suspected bird flu cases, said the patient had been admitted on Thursday.

Preliminary tests showed the woman suffered from bird flu, he said.

"We did serology tests and the results showed positive for bird flu," Giriputro told Reuters, adding officials would extract her lung tissues to determine final results.

He also said an eight-year-old boy who was declared bird flu positive last week proved negative after follow-up tests.

The bird flu has killed four people in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, not counting the woman who died on Monday.

- REUTERS