JAKARTA, Indonesia - A 9-year-old boy died from bird flu just hours after being admitted to a hospital in Indonesia, becoming the 51st confirmed fatality in the country worst hit by the virus, a senior Health Ministry official said Monday.

The boy died Friday in a hospital in the capital, Jakarta, nine days after he first showed symptoms of the virus, Nyoman Kandun said.

"By the time he arrived at hospital, it was too late," said Kandun, adding he died two hours after being admitted.

The boy had recent contact with chickens also suffering from the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the health official said.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 144 people worldwide since it started ravaging poultry stocks in Asia three years ago, according to the World Health Organization, which has yet to update its Web site with the boy's death, as well as another fatality last week.

Most human deaths have been traced to contact with sick birds, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a more transmissible form, potentially causing a deadly global pandemic.

Indonesia, a sprawling island nation of more than 220 people, has attracted international criticism earlier this year for not doing enough to stamp out the virus in its vast poultry stocks.