A further case of human infection with the H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in Indonesia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

The case is a 16-year-old boy from West Java Province. He developed symptoms of fever and cough on Nov. 6, followed by breathing difficulties a few days later. He was hospitalized on Nov.16 and remains in stable condition.

WHO said a field investigation of this case determined that two siblings had died 5 days before his hospitalization.

"His two brothers, aged 7 and 20 years, had onset of illness on Nov. 3 and died on Nov. 11, following symptoms of fever and breathing difficulty. The presumptive diagnosis was typhoid fever. No samples were taken before burial, which precludes definitive diagnosis," WHO said, adding that it reports laboratory-confirmed cases only.

No other cases of influenza-like illness were detected in the 80 households of the village.

The field investigation found that chickens in the family household had died during the two weeks preceding onset of illness in the deceased brothers. Samples from animals have been collected for testing and the investigation continues, according to WHO.

The newly confirmed case brings the total number in Indonesia to 12. Of these cases, 7 were fatal.

Source: Xinhua