Jakarta, Indonesia ? A 9-year-old girl died of bird flu earlier this week, raising the number of Indonesians killed by the H5N1 virus to 45, a senior health official said today.

Ai Siti Amanah died Tuesday in a hospital in West Java province, one day after being admitted with symptoms of the disease.

The girl’s 17-year-old neighbor also was sickened by the disease. They lived in the village of Cikelet, about 90 miles southeast of the capital Jakarta. Another boy in the hamlet died before tests could be taken. Officials believe the victims came into contact with sickened birds.

The H5N1 virus has killed at least 139 people worldwide since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. The death toll has been highest in Indonesia, according to the World Health Organization.