A BROTHER and sister have died in Indonesia's Central Java province after being treated for symptoms of avian influenza, a doctor said today.
Hanif Cahaya Fitri, 13, died last night after being hospitalised for nine days at Moewardi hospital in the town of Solo, said Reviono, a doctor who handles bird flu patients at the hospital.
Her younger brother, 10-year-old Nandya Kurniawan, died a day earlier at a local hospital in their home town of Boyolali south of Solo, Reviono said.
Both children had been in contact with sick chickens, the doctor said, adding that his hospital had sent samples from the pair to the health ministry's research facilities in Jakarta.
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, has confirmed 20 human fatalities from the H5N1 virus. The most recent confirmed death was reported last weekend.
Most of the victims have come from Jakarta and its surroundings but infected birds have been found in 26 of Indonesia's 33 provinces.
Ilham Patu from Jakarta's Sulianti Saroso hospital – the main Indonesian hospital treating bird flu patients – said seven patients were being treated as suspected carriers of the virus.
Two babies were cleared and released today, he said.
Experts fear that H5N1, which has killed more than 90 people mostly in Asia since 2003, may mutate into a form that can pass between humans, sparking a deadly pandemic.
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