Bird flu kills five in Indonesia
Associated Press
May 17, 2006

Five people died of bird flu in Indonesia, including four in one family, the World Health Organization confirmed Wednesday. A fifth member of the family is suspected of succumbing to the disease.

The multiple infections among people living close to each other drew special concern because they could indicate the virus mutated into a form easily passed between humans. The disease is currently transmitted only from birds to humans.

But Indonesian health officials said it appeared unlikely that human to human transmission occurred.

"We believe they may have been infected through fertilizer" from an area where there has been an outbreak, said Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari.
Four of the deaths were from the family on Sumatra island and the other was in the country's second-largest city, Surabaya, on Java, WHO spokeswoman Sari Setiogi said.

Local health officials said a fifth member of the Sumatra family is suspected of dying from bird flu, but WHO testing hasn't been completed.
One other family relative was infected with the virus but survived.