u last week contracted the virus, as confirmation he was infected brought the official toll from the H5N1 strain here to 86. Ningrum, a doctor from Indonesia's bird flu information centre, said that the victim -- identified only by his initials "AR" -- died on Friday at a hospital in West Jakarta, but it was not known if he had been in contact with poultry.
"On the risk factors, we have nothing yet but a team (from the health ministry) is currently at his home," she told AFP.
While the usual mode of the transmission of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu is directly from an infected bird -- typically poultry -- to humans, scientists fear that the virus will eventually mutate into a form easily spread between people.
Such a development could trigger a global pandemic.
The latest victim tested positive for the virus in two separate tests, the requirement to be reported as a confirmed case in Indonesia, which is the country worst affected by the virus.
The man first showed flu-like symptoms 10 days before he died but was only admitted to hospital a week later, Ningrum said.
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, has now reported 107 bird flu infections, including 86 deaths, since it recorded its first case in July 2005.
Another victim died earlier this month on the island of Sumatra, while two people died on the resort island of Bali in August, stoking concerns of an impact on the vital tourism industry there.
Ningrum said that there were no further suspected bird flu patients being treated at the moment.
H5N1 is endemic in birds across nearly all of the archipelago nation.
