BIRD FLU SUSPECT DIES IN PEKANBARU

Pekanbaru, Riau Province, March 27 (ANTARA) - A bird flu suspect identified as Wahyu Ibnu Saputra, a two-year old boy, died at Arifin Achmad Public Hospital here on Thursday.

Wahyu died after suffering a respiratory problem and falling unconscious, Dr Azizman Saad, coordinator of the bird flu control at the Arifin Achmad hospital, said here on Thursday.
The patient's life could not be saved although six doctors had tried to help him maximally, he said.
The boy died at around 2 a.m. local time on Thursday.
The patient's condition reportedly improved on Wednesday with his temperature reaching around 36 C degrees and pulse speed of 40 times per minute, dr Azizman Saad said.
"But, on Wednesday evening his condition drastically deteriorated and finally passed away," he said.
However, the hospital could not confirmed the cause of Wahyu's death, whether it was because of H5N1 (bird flu) virus or not, as the hospital was still waiting for the result of laboratory test of the patient's blood sample.
"We cannot comment before we received the result of the laboratory's test on the patient's sample," he said.
The boy's body was later buried at Lokomotif Public Cemetery, Pekanbaru, on Thursday at 10 a.m. local time.