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EKANBARU, Riau: A patient who underwent intensive treatment at the Arifin Achmad General Hospital in Pekanbaru for suspected bird flu has died.

Thirty-two year old Solihin was the second suspected bird flu patient to die in the last month following the death of two-and-a-half year old Wahyu Ibnu Saputra on March 27. The latter's test results showed he had definitely been infected by the deadly virus strain.

Head of the Bird Flu Response Team at the hospital, Azizman Saad, said Solihin had been treated at the bird flu isolation ward since early last week but died Wednesday evening, despite his condition improving a day before he died.

"But his condition suddenly worsened in the evening and he gradually became weak. His life could not be saved although the medical team tried to revive him with a ventilator," Azizman told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Azizman could not confirm the cause of Solihin's death because the hospital had not yet received test results of blood and liquid samples sent for processing in Jakarta last Monday.