Indonesia's local test has indicated that a 16-year-old boy was infected by avian influenza, Director of the Health Ministry Nyoman Kandun said in Jakarta yesterday.

"Local test shows he is positive of bird flu," Kandun told Xinhua.

The boy, who is from Jakarta, was now being treated in the bird flu-designed hospital of Sulianti Suroso in Jakarta, he said.

The patient had contacts with fowls, said Kandun.

The World Health Organization has confirmed 42 out of 55 people contracted by the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus are dead in the country.