Three Indonesian children hospitalized with bird flu symptoms (AFP)

JAKARTA (AFP) - Three Indonesian children related to a woman who possibly died of bird flu are being treated in hospital for symptoms of the deadly virus.

The three children were admitted on Tuesday, suffering from high fevers and coughs, and were being tested for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza, said Sulianti Saroso hospital spokesman Ilham Patu.

"For the time being, all we can say is that the three children were admitted showing symptoms of the bird flu," Patu told AFP.

The three children, aged five months, ten months and eight years, were from Tanggerang, a town about 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of the capital, he said.

The 10-month old girl was the daughter of a woman who died at a Tanggerang hospital recently showing symptoms of the virus, while the other two boys were her nephews, he added. He did not give further details of the woman.

At least four people have died of avian influenza in Indonesia and three others have been confirmed as infected, but remained alive.

More than 60 people have died of the virus in Asia since 2003. Experts fear it could mutate and kill millions globally.

Some seven million fowls have been culled in Indonesia but the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has expressed concern at a lack of awareness in suburban and rural communities about the threat posed by the virus.

The government said last week it was monitoring bird flu using mobile surveillance units and was enlisting between 500 and 1,000 veterinary students from several state universities to look for sick chickens in poultry farms.

The government was also inviting volunteers to take part in the monitoring effort.