9-year-old boy dies of bird flu, bringing Indonesia's death toll to 99

JAKARTA (AP): A 9-year-old boy has died of bird flu, bringing Indonesia's death toll from the disease to 99, health officials said Monday.

The boy died Sunday at the Sulianto Saroso Hospital for Infectious Disease in Jakarta, said Ningrum, an official at the Health Ministry's bird flu center.

Tests confirmed the boy had the H5N1 virus, she said, adding that the cause of the infection had yet to be determined.

The boy was from a neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Jakarta. He first developed symptoms on Jan. 16, said Ningrum, who like many Indonesians who uses a single name.

Indonesia has recorded human bird flu deaths regularly since the virus began ravaging poultry stocks across Asia in 2003.

Scientists have warned that Indonesia, which has millions of backyard chickens and poor medical facilities, is a potential hot spot for a global bird flu pandemic.