Two more suspected bird flu deaths in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Mar 27 (Reuters) A teenager and a 22-year-old woman have died from suspected bird flu in Indonesia, a health ministry official said today.

Both had tested positive for the H5N1 virus after an initial test, but officials were awaiting the result of a second test.

Indonesia has the world's highest human death toll from bird flu and if confirmed by the second test, the latest two deaths would take Indonesia's confirmed human death toll from the virus to 68.

A 15-year-old boy from Indramayu in West Java died on Sunday after falling ill on March 16 and receiving treatment in several hospitals, Muhammad Nadirin at the health ministry's bird flu centre said by telephone.

The 22-year-old woman from Palembang in southeast Sumatra died on March 24. The Antara state news agency reported that she had not had contact with fowl, but that there were at least 10 cats at her house.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned that cats should be kept away from areas affected by bird flu as they can pick up and spread the disease.

An initial test also showed that a 39-year-old man from Mojokerto in East Java was suffering from the H5N1 virus, Nadirin said. He was being treated at the Soetomo Hospital in the city of Surabaya.

REUTERS MS SSC1031