Bird Flu Again

According to the BBC, 5 indonesians have died from bird flu. That's just next door.

"Five more people have died from bird flu in Indonesia, the World Health Organization has confirmed.

The deaths of the five, who were all from the same family, brings Indonesia's bird flu death toll to 30.

At least four of the people who died lived in northern Sumatra. The WHO has sent a team to the area to investigate.

An Indonesian health ministry official told Reuters news agency there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission in the latest cases of the H5N1 virus.

The infected girl, in the south-western province of Sichuan province, is being treated in hospital.

The H5N1 virus has killed more than 100 people worldwide since 2003. It has also devastated poultry stocks.

The majority of deaths have occurred in Asia, but cases in people and birds have also been recorded in Europe and Africa.

Almost all human infections so far are thought to have been caused by direct contact with sick poultry.

Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily between humans, possibly sparking a pandemic.

Source : BBC NEWS