Human bird flu deaths rise to 21 in Indonesia

JAKARTA: A four-year-old Indonesian boy who died this week was infected with bird flu, a health official confirmed on Saturday, bringing the country's death toll from the disease to 21.

Wahyu Kurniawan, who died on Tuesday at a hospital in Semarang, central Java, tested positive for the disease, said Hariadi Wibosono, the health ministry's director for the control of animal-borne diseases.

"I have received the confirmation this morning, he was positive (for the) bird flu virus," Wibosono said on Saturday, adding that the boy was Indonesia's 21st fatality. However, he said the result would have to be confirmed by World Health Organisation (WHO) labs.