JAKARTA, 14 July 2007 - The child who died of bird flu last week appears to have caught the virus from dead of sick chickens living in her area, a health ministry official told earlier today. "She had indirect contact with dead chickens near her school," told Joko Suyono, an official at the ministry's bird flu center.

The victim from the city of Cilegon in the province of Banten, had initially been identified as a six-year-old boy, but Suyono said this happened due to a mix-up between the hospital and a laboratory. The official told that tests on dead chickens found near the school of the girl showed that they were infected with bird flu.

"We cannot know whether she touched sick chickens or not because she died. But we know surrounding her school the virus is endemic in fowl," he added. Suyono said tests for the virus on people who may have been in contact with the girl all proved negative and he also said that this care ruled out the possibility that the virus is transmitted between humans.

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