Indonesia confirms death from bird flu

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesia confirmed its ninth human death from bird flu Tuesday, and Japan said it will kill 90,000 more chickens after an outbreak at a farm north of Tokyo.
Meanwhile, a World Health Organization official backed Indonesia's stance that killing backyard chickens -- as opposed to birds on big farms -- was not a recommended way to tackle the disease.
Tests from a laboratory in Hong Kong showed that a 35-year-old Indonesian man who died last month in the capital, Jakarta, had the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu, said Hariadi Wibisono, a senior Health Ministry official. "I have just received confirmation," he said, adding the victim, identified by his initials A.R., had a history of contact with poultry.
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