Indonesia says 20th human bird flu death confirmed
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-25 16:00

Bird flu has killed its 20th human victim in Indonesia, a 27-year-old woman, according to tests by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, an Indonesian health ministry official said on Saturday.

"We have received the test result from CDC Atlanta. Yulia (the victim) was positive," said Hariadi Wibisono, director-general of control of animal-borne disease at the health ministry.

He was referring to the case of a 27-year-old woman who died last Monday after being admitted to the Sulianti Saroso hospital in Jakarta, which is designated to treat patients showing bird flu symptoms.

Local tests are not considered definitive. The CDC laboratory tests are among those recognized by the World Health Organization.

A hospital spokesman had said the woman had contact with dead chickens in her neighborhood.

The announcement came a day after Indonesia launched house-to-house surveillance of poultry in the capital, Jakarta, in a bid to halt the spread of the avian flu.