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.