March 20 (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on its Web site on Tuesday that a two-year-old Egyptian boy had tested positive for bird flu. Last week tests confirmed the H5N1 bird flu virus killed a 42-year-old woman in Laos, the second confirmed bird flu death in Laos. Worldwide, the virus has killed 169 people since 2003, according to the United Nation's World Health Organisation. At least 200 million birds have died or been culled. Following is a list of confirmed human cases of H5N1 from the WHO in Geneva. Total cases include survivors. Deaths Total cases AZERBAIJAN 5 8 CAMBODIA 6 6 CHINA 14 23 DJIBOUTI 0 1 EGYPT 13 26 INDONESIA 63* 81* IRAQ 2 3 LAOS 2 2 NIGERIA 1 1 THAILAND 17 25 TURKEY 4 12 VIETNAM 42 93 ------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 169 281 ------------------------------------------------- Initial tests usually take a day or two to confirm if someone has H5N1. More detailed testing by government laboratories or those affiliated with the WHO can take a week or more. The H5N1 virus remains mainly a virus of birds, but experts fear it could change into a form easily transmitted from person to person and sweep the world, killing millions. So far, most human cases can be traced to direct or indirect contact with infected birds. * NOTE: Indonesia has claimed 66 deaths from bird flu. The difference between Indonesian death figures and those of WHO is that Indonesia has not sent samples for suspected cases out for independent checking at WHO-affiliated labs for the past two months. WHO only uses cases confirmed at such labs for its statistics.
