Seven Indonesians test negative for bird flu

Seven Indonesians from the same area of Sumatra island who were taken to hospital amid fears they had bird flu have tested negative for the virus and their conditions are improving, officials said today.

Specimens taken from the patients all came back negative for the H5N1 virus in local tests, said Nyoman Kandun, a leading Health Ministry official.

The patients – from two families – were being treated as suspected bird flu cases because they lived in an area that had infected poultry. They developed coughs and light fevers, and officials had feared the formation of two new H5N1 virus clusters.