Indonesia records 43rd death from bird flu

A 16-year-old Indonesian boy has died from bird flu, according to local test results that, if confirmed, would bring Indonesia’s death toll to 43 and make it the world’s hardest-hit country.

Normally reliable tests performed at a local laboratory showed that the boy who died late yesterday had the H5N1 virus, said Dr. Santoso Suroso, the director of the capital’s infectious diseases hospital, where he was treated for three days.