Bird flu kills woman as Chinese suspect 'cured'

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.

Dr Ilham Patu said that "all the indications" were that Dian Rachma, aged 20, had contracted the virus. She died late yesterday in Jakarta's infectious diseases hospital, where all suspected cases of bird flu in the capital are treated, he said.

Patu said Rachma lived close to a flock of backyard chickens that died suddenly and had a high fever and breathing difficulties when she died. Tests would be carried out tomorrow to confirm the diagnosis, he said. Samples would also be sent to a Hong Kong laboratory for further tests.