Indonesia said yesterday a 16-year-old youth is suffering from bird flu and several other countries also reported more suspected cases in people. Avian influenza is known to have killed 64 people in Asia and infected 125. There are at least a dozen other suspected cases as governments in Asia struggle to control outbreaks in poultry to prevent more people from catching the H5N1 avian flu virus that experts fear could trigger a pandemic. Adding to the sense of alarm, a team of scientists say they know why the virus has proved so deadly in people, while researchers in Vietnam say H5N1 has mutated into a form that allows it to replicate more easily inside humans and other mammals.

Indonesia, Vietnam and China all said yesterday they had had more suspicious cases in people, while Thailand said a toddler confirmed infected with bird flu was recovering. In the Indonesian capital, tests were being conducted on two patients, aged 20 and 13, who died over the weekend in the Sulianti Saroso Hospital, Jakarta’s hospital for treating bird flu patients.

Patu said tests in Indonesia showed the 16-year-old youth was infected with H5N1. But the test results for him and a 16-year-old girl who died last week have to be confirmed by a laboratory in Hong Kong. The laboratory, affiliated with the World Health Organisation, has confirmed five people have died of bird flu in Indonesia.

<B>Ade RINA</B>