Bird flu has killed four people in Indonesia since July, and two other recent fatalities are being investigated. Tests have confirmed that a five year-old girl who died earlier this week did not have the virus as originally feared, the health minister said.

Another 22 with symptoms of the disease are under observation in hospitals nationwide, most of them in Jakarta. The health of most of the patients was improving, doctors said.

"In view of the worrying situation, it is necessary for the government to improve its virus control policies and strategies," Joseph Domenech, the head veterinarian for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, said in a statement.

Government Accused of Responding Slowly

The government -- accused of responding slowly to the outbreak -- has in recent days stepped up efforts to curtail its spread. It fired the country's chief of animal health control, said it planned to cull chickens in infected areas, and threatened to forcefully hospitalize anyone showing symptoms of the disease.

Teams of scientists from the United States and Japan are helping the government investigate the current outbreak, said Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab.

"We have the highest confidence in the ability and energy of the government of Indonesia to work on this problem," US Ambassador to Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe told reporters after meeting with Shihab.

The FAO said that Indonesian officials "should immediately carry out control measures such as culling and targeted vaccination in high-risk areas" and "that more financial resources should be made available for the control of bird flu in animals to prevent a human pandemic."

"Culling if done properly ... is very successful in removing the source of the virus that can both infect animals and humans," said Juan Lubroth, an animal health expert with the FAO in Rome. "I think Indonesia needs to look at compensation strategies that will encourage people to come forward with their animals."

Virus Could Mutate

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has swept through poultry populations in large swaths of Asia since 2003, killing at least 63 people and resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of birds.

Most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds. But the World Health Organization has warned that the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among humans -- possibly triggering a global pandemic that could kill millions.

Several of the patients under observation complained of flu like symptoms after visiting Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta that was closed earlier this week when eagles, peacocks and other birds were found to have the virus.

Dr. Ilham Batu said hundreds of people had turned up at the infectious diseases hospital because they believed that anyone who had recently visited the zoo should have a check up.

"Please do not come if you don't have any symptoms," he told el-Shinta radio.

Emergency Supplies

The latest outbreak in Indonesia has alarmed the region.

On Friday, Australia announced it would fund 10,000 courses of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu for Indonesia to help Jakarta fight the illness.

"This assistance for emergency supplies of the drug follows a request from the Indonesian government and is part of our ongoing work to combat Avian Influenza in the Asia Pacific," said Bruce Billson, the government's parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs. "The World Health Organization will source the anti-viral medication from drug suppliers to treat flu victims and those who have been in close contact with them, including medical personnel."