The World Health Organization has confirmed that five people died of bird flu in Indonesia, bringing total death toll to 39 thus far, a report said Wednesday.

Four of the victims were from a family in North Sumatra and another death was from East Java, reported The Jakarta Post online news service.

The alarming rate of bird flu casualties has prompted the government to launch a thorough investigation about the possibility of mutating H5N1 avian flu infection among humans.

The move came after eight people from a family in North Sumatra were admitted to hospital for developing bird flu symptoms, with four died later of the virus.

Source: Xinhua