Indonesian boy dies of bird flu

An 11-year-old Indonesian boy has died of the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu, raising the national death toll from the disease to 53, the director of the hospital where the child was being treated said today.

The boy, who was not named by officials, was admitted to the Sulianti Saroso Hospital for Infectious Diseases on Thursday and died last night, said Dr Santoso Suroso.