A nine-year-old girl has died of bird flu virus in northern Thailand, becoming the country's 11th victim of the epidemic, the public health official said here on Monday.

The girl, who entered hospital on Sept. 30 with bird flu symptoms, died hours after tests confirmed she was infected with the disease, said Kamnuan Ungchoosak, chief of the Health Ministry' communicable disease control department.

So far, Thailand has reported 11 deaths of bird flu infection, while the other 20 deaths were reported in Vietnam, pushing this year's global death toll of bird flu to 31.

Thailand has been highly alerted over the transmission of the disease among people since lab test showed that one female patient probably got infected by her sick daughter.

All other bird flu infection was transmission between chicken and human.
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 4, 2004)