Indonesia girl dies of bird flu in afflicted village

JAKARTA, Aug 17 (Reuters) A 9-year-old Indonesian girl who died this week had bird flu according to two local tests, and the village where she lived is rife with the disease, the health ministry said today.

The girl died on Tuesday in a hospital in West Java's Cikelet village where there are many sick and dead chickens, said Runizar Ruesin, the head of the health ministry's bird flu information centre.

Her death takes Indonesia's toll from the disease to 45, the highest of any country.

''Bird flu is rife in Cikelet. You can always find dead or sick chickens there,'' Ruesin told Reuters.

The boy's 20-year-old cousin died earlier this month with bird flu-like symptoms but his samples could not be taken.

A 17-year-old boy in the same village has also tested positive for bird flu, but has stayed at home and refused to be treated at the main hospital in Bandung, the provincial capital to the south of Jakarta.

The boy's condition was improving and he was being constantly monitored by health officials, said health ministry spokeswoman Lily Sulistyawati. ''He is a survivor and he is doing very well,'' she said.

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