Chinese soldier dies from bird flu: WHO

BEIJING (AFP) - A teenage soldier in China has died from bird flu, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday, the country's 16th death from the virus.

China's health ministry informed the WHO that the 19-year-old male soldier died on Sunday, the organisation's Beijing-based spokeswoman, Joanna Brent, said.

The health ministry was not able to immediately comment when contacted by AFP.

The soldier, who was serving in the southeastern Fujian province, was the first human bird flu case in China since a 16-year-old died on March 27 from the deadly H5N1 virus.

The People's Liberation Army petty officer was admitted to hospital on May 9 after developing a fever and pneumonia-like symptoms, and was hospitalised five days later.

Of the 25 confirmed bird flu cases in China, 16 have now been fatal, the WHO said.

H5N1 has killed 188 people and ravaged poultry flocks worldwide since 2003, according to the WHO.