Deadly bird flu strikes Indonesia

Nine of the deaths have been in Vietnam; three in Thailand

Indonesia has confirmed an outbreak of the most dangerous type of bird flu, which has hit several Asian countries.

Health officials said the H5N1 strain had been found, but they said no humans had been infected by the illness, which has claimed 12 lives across the region.

International health, food and veterinary experts are to hold talks in Rome on Tuesday on the bird flu crisis.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation is hosting the meeting, which runs until Thursday.

Mutant fears

Experts fear the virus could mutate into a stronger strain that could pass from human to human - but there is no firm evidence that this has happened.

People who have contracted H5N1 bird flu are thought to have caught it through contact with sick birds.

Indonesia acknowledged the presence of bird flu only last week, but it was believed to be a milder type, not known to infect humans.

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The virus has killed millions of avian livestock in the country.

The Agriculture Ministry's director for animal health, Tri Satya Naipospos, told reporters tests had shown "the subtype of the type A avian influenza in Indonesia is H5N1".

The World Health Organization (WHO), which is taking part in the Rome meeting, has called for strong collaborative efforts to control the virus, which has hit poultry flocks in 10 Asian countries.

"Things are still in the box. It has not come out. If we sit on the lid it will stay there and we still have that window of opportunity open," said Klaus Stoehr, head of the WHO's global influenza programme.

Also taking part in the meeting, which is closed to the media, are the World Animal Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and veterinary experts from affected countries.

Vietnam deaths

The WHO has said it cannot rule out one case of human to human transmission in Vietnam, but there was no firm evidence of it.

Health experts are worried that if the virus mixes with a regular human influenza strain, it might create a mutant form that was able to pass between humans, triggering a human flu pandemic.

Nine people have died from avian flu in Vietnam, with three deaths in Thailand.

The latest people to die were an 18-year-old man in Vietnam and a 58-year-old Thai woman, who both died on Monday.

Initial tests in Germany on two women with suspected bird flu have proved negative.