Bird Flu Death Toll in Indonesia Climbs to 42

The World Health Organisation has confirmed the 42nd bird flu death in Indonesia, putting the country on a par with Vietnam as the worst hit by the disease.

The Indonesian authorities received confirmation yesterday from a WHO-accredited laboratory in Hong Kong that a 44-year-old man who died last week on the outskirts of Jakarta had the H5N1 virus.

Bird flu has killed at least 133 people worldwide since it started ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003, according to the WHO.

Most people who have contracted H5N1 had come into contact with infected birds and it remains very difficult for humans to catch. However, experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, possibly sparking a global flu pandemic.

Vietnam has seen 42 people die from the virus since 2003 but has not recorded any new human deaths this year, thanks in part to an aggressive campaign to slaughter all birds in infected areas.

But the authorities in Indonesia, where there has been a steady rise in the death toll over recent months, have been criticised for not carrying out widespread culling.

The country has an estimated 2 billion chickens and the virus is endemic among poultry in 27 of its 33 provinces. Culling all the birds would require huge compensation payments to farmers and backyard chicken owners.