Feb 27 (Reuters) - Laos confirmed on Tuesday its first human case of bird flu, a 15-year-old girl living in a suburb of Vientiane where the virus was found in poultry three weeks ago.

The girl, who went down with fever and respiratory problems on Feb. 15, was in stable condition in a hospital in neighbouring Thailand, the Lao Ministry of Health and World Health Organization said in a joint statement.

Worldwide, the virus has killed 167 people since 2003, according to the U.N. health agency.

At least 200 million birds have died or been culled.

Following is a list of confirmed human cases of H5N1 from WHO in Geneva. Total cases include survivors.

Deaths Total cases AZERBAIJAN 5 8 CAMBODIA 6 6 CHINA 14 22 DJIBOUTI 0 1 EGYPT 13 22 INDONESIA 63 81 IRAQ 2 3 LAOS 0 1 NIGERIA 1 1 THAILAND 17 25 TURKEY 4 12 VIETNAM 42 93 ------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 167 275 -------------------------------------------------

Initial testing usually takes 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 within weeks or months.

So far, most human cases can be traced to direct or indirect contact with infected birds.

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