A THAI boy has become the 70th Asian to die of bird flu, authorities said yesterday as reports warned a flu pandemic could cost the US economy hundreds of billions of dollars as well as millions of lives.

A FARMER in north-east China has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the government said yesterday, making her the country’s fifth confirmed human case of the disease.

A farmer in north-east China has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the government said today, making her the country’s fifth confirmed human case of the disease.

THE Indonesian authorities are investigating whether a 20-year-old woman who lived near a flock of sick chickens died from bird flu after falling ill with symptoms of the disease, a hospital spokesman said yesterday.

An Indonesian women has died of suspected bird flu, a hospital spokesman said today, adding that tests would be carried out to confirm the cause of death.