http://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2006/01/26/afx2478295.html - http://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2006/01/26/afx247829 5.html

Indonesian man dies of bird flu, 15th fatality if confirmed by WHO - hospital
01.26.2006, 06:53 AM

JAKARTA (AFX) (AFP) - A 22-year-old Indonesian chicken seller infected with the bird flu virus has died, a hospital official said.

If local tests which found he was infected with the H5N1 strain of the virus are confirmed by a World Health Organisation-affiliated laboratory in Hong Kong, the man would be Indonesia's 15th fatality from avian influenza.

'He died at 2:00 pm today,' said Ilham Patu, spokesman for Sulianti Saroso hospital, where the latest victim and most of Indonesia's bird flu patients have been treated.

The man, who had a history of contact with poultry through his job, had been breathing through a ventilator, Patu said. He was admitted a week ago.

So far the strain has killed around 80 people since 2003, mostly in Southeast Asia and China.

Three other people were still being treated as suspected bird flu patients at the hospital, Patu added.