Indonesia's local tests on six suspected people of having avian influenza
were negative, eliminating fears of new cluster, a senior official of the Health
Ministry said in Jakarta Thursday.
The six are all from the same district with the biggest cluster found in May
in North Sumatra province
"All the result of the six are negative," official Nyoman Kandun told Xinhua.
He said that from seven people suspected of the disease only six that they
could take their specimen.
"They were just suffering flu," he said.
Earlier, the officials from the animal husbandry office found many chicken
died because of the H5N1 virus, he said. Then the officials search door to door
to find out those suffering of bird flu, he added.
Only three of the suspected people would like to be hospitalized, and only
six specimen can be obtained of the seven suspected people, said Kandun.
The bird flu killed seven people that were linked by blood in May, triggering
fears the H5N1 bird flu virus had mutated into a form that could spread easily
between people.
Indonesia has recorded the highest death of bird flu in the world, with 42
death toll, same with Vietnam.