A 39-year-old Indonesian man "strongly suspected" of being infected with the deadly bird flu virus has died in hospital, a medical spokesman said here.
If confirmed, the man would be the 10th fatality from avian influenza in Indonesia. Five other infections have been confirmed here but the patients have survived.
The latest suspected victim came from South Jakarta and was admitted Monday to the Sulianti Saroso hospital, Indonesia's main bird flu treatment centre, but died on Tuesday, hospital spokesman Ilham Patu, told AFP.
He had shown symptoms of carrying the potentially deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, such as high fever and respiratory difficulties and had been moved from a private hospital in South Jakarta.
"He also showed another key symptom of bird flu infection, a rapid lowering of his white blood cell count," Patu said.
H5N1 links to a Reuters article claiming that a toddler from Vietnam's southern province of Hau Giang is believed to have died of bird flu.
Addendum: more recent media reports claim the Vietnamese toddler did not die from H5N1.