December 6, 2005

Indonesian baby catches bird flu
 

An eight-month-old baby in north Jakarta had recently tested positive for bird flu. Doctors suspected an infected pigeon passed the disease to the child.

A spokesman at Jakarta's Sulianti Saroso hospital said preliminary tests revealed the child was infected by the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu. However, the World Health Organization in Hong Kong has yet to confirm the results.

The baby has been admitted into an isolation ward at a designated bird flu center on Sunday.

Meanwhile, six other patients were undergoing tests at the hospital.