A Thai boy suspected of being infected by the bird flu virus died, raising the toll from the disease to three confirmed fatalities and 11 deaths from suspected cases, the government's spokesman said.

"Today one of the patients listed as a suspected case, a four-year-old boy from Manjakhiri district of Khon Kaen, died at 10:15am (0315 GMT)," spokesman Jakrapob Penkair told reporters.

He said Prapasit Kaopramong succumbed to severe pneumonia at hospital in Khon Kaen city, 450 kilometres (280 miles) northeast of Bangkok.

Thailand now has four confirmed cases of bird flu, including three people who have died, and another 18 suspected cases, of whom 11 have died.

Jakrapob said 26.9 million chickens have been culled nationwide, with slaughtering continuing in seven of Thailand's 76 provinces but completed in the other 29 provinces where the deadly H5N1 virus has been detected.

The three people confirmed to have died from the disease in Thailand are two boys, both six years old, who died on January 25 and 27, and a 58-year-old woman who passed away on January 28.

The deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza has also caused nine deaths in Vietnam but the other eight countries hit with bird flu have not reported any human infections.

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