Indonesian bird flu death toll rises to six

September 26, 2005

A 27 year old woman who was hospitalized with bird flu symptoms last week, died in hospital this morning. Test results confirmed that she, and a five year old girl who died last week, had died for the H5N1 virus which has already killed dozens of people across Asia.

She's the sixth person in Indonesia to die from bird flu, and at present there are at least 34 people hospitalized in the country with symptoms of the virus.

There is concern that a widespread outbreak could occur as people in Indonesia frequently keep poultry or pet birds in their homes. For this reason, Indonesian Government will deliver 40,000 doses of the anti-viral drug by the end of this week, with a further 40,000 provided by Australia.