Man dies of bird flu in Indonesia

An Indonesian man died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu after coming into contact with his neighbour’s infected chickens, a senior health official said today, citing local laboratory tests.

A swab and blood sample from the 30-year-old man have been sent to a World Health Organisation-sanctioned laboratory in Hong Kong for confirmation, said Hariadi Wibisono, a director at the Health Ministry.

If confirmed, the man’s death will raise Indonesia’s human toll from H5N1 to 25, Wibisono said.

Meanwhile, China has confirmed that an eight-year-old student has been infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus, the country’s 18th case.

The girl from Suining, a city in the south-west province of Sichuan, showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on April 16 and was being treated at a local hospital, the Health Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site late yesterday.

Investigations show that poultry deaths were reported at her home before she got sick, the ministry said, without giving any more details on the outbreak.

People who came into close contact with the girl, surnamed Sun, have been put under medical observation and none have shown any abnormal symptoms, the ministry said.

Lab tests have confirmed that Sun had been infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed at least 113 people worldwide, most after contact with sick or infected birds. Twelve of China’s 18 cases have died.

Health experts have warned that the virus could mutate into a form easily passed between people, potentially sparking a pandemic.

Earlier this week, the ministry criticised some local health authorities for being too slow to report suspicious pneumonia cases – potentially an H5N1 infection – or even hiding some.

The ministry didn’t speculate on the reasons behind such actions, although local authorities in China often avoid reporting incidents that could draw official attention and possible criticism or censure.