| Indonesia has taken immediate action to | | | | Most of the at least 60 people who have |
| try to contain an outbreak of the bird | | | | died from the virus in four Asian |
| flu virus that has killed four people in | | | | countries since late 2003 became |
| the nation's capital since July. | | | | infected after close contact with birds. |
| International health experts have begun | | | | The WHO's Indonesia representative, |
| arriving in Indonesia to help with the | | | | Georg Petersen, says with 12 million |
| growing problem. | | | | people in Jakarta living near infected |
| The Indonesian health minister warns the | | | | birds more people could catch the virus. |
| recent outbreak of bird flu could easily | | | | "The virus is basically circulating in |
| turn into an epidemic as agricultural | | | | the bird population and we have a |
| officials announced plans for a massive | | | | situation with very high population |
| cull of poultry in infected areas. | | | | density too in the same areas, so the |
| Health experts are concerned because | | | | chances are more infections in humans is |
| they cannot identify the source of the | | | | slowly growing," he said. |
| H5N1 virus that has caused at least four | | | | WHO spokesman Mr. Dietz also says |
| deaths in recent weeks. | | | | human-to-human transmission may have |
| World Health Organization spokesman Bob | | | | already occurred, but in a limited way. |
| Dietz says there is concern the virus | | | | "This might have happened. But we have |
| could spread among humans. | | | | always been reluctant to say |
| "The threat, the very, very, very grave | | | | categorically this has indeed happened. |
| threat is that sooner or later it will | | | | What might be happening is inefficient |
| evolve into that sort of virus that can | | | | transmission of the virus between human |
| be exchanged between human beings. That | | | | beings in some very specialized, |
| means it could tear through the global | | | | localized situations," he said. |
| population very quickly," he said. | | | | Health experts from Australia, the |
| Six suspected cases of bird flu remain | | | | United States and Canada have begun to |
| under observation in a Jakarta hospital, | | | | arrive in Indonesia to assess the |
| while a seventh, a five-year-old child, | | | | situation. |
| died Wednesday. | | | | |