Officials could have avian flu

JAKARTA: Three Cirebon Regency employees in West Java were admitted to the Sulianti Saroso hospital with suspected bird flu on Tuesday morning.

""Three of the Regent's chickens died and were confirmed to have been infected with avian influenza by the local animal husbandry office,"" Ilham Patu, head of avian influenza surveillance at the Sulianti Saroso Hospital, was quoted by Tempo Interaktif as saying.

The three are currently been treated in the hospital's isolation ward, but their conditions are stable, he said, adding that blood samples have been taken but had yet to be tested. --JP