A 39-year-old Indonesian man died of bird flu earlier this month, a senior Health Ministry official said on Monday, citing the results of a local test.

If confirmed by outside laboratories recognised by the World Health Organisation, the case would bring total known deaths in Indonesia from the H5N1 virus to 12 and the number who have had bird flu to 17.

"We got the local test result around Friday. He had contact with dead chickens," Hariadi Wibisono, the ministry´s director of eradication of animal-borne diseases, told Reuters.

The man died on Jan. 1 in Jakarta´s hospital designated to treat bird flu patients.

The H5N1 virus cannot pass easily between humans at the moment, but experts fear it could develop that ability and set off a global pandemic which might kill millions of people.

The H5N1 virus has killed more than 70 people in Southeast Asia and China since 2003.

Several children have also died in Turkey, the first human cases outside East Asia.

The majority of victims in East Asia and Turkey have died after contact with infected birds.

Indonesia´s government said last week the country needed nearly $1 billion over two years to fight bird flu.

The virus has been found in poultry in two-thirds of Indonesia´s 33 provinces.