United Press International

　　Thursday, June 16, 2005

　　JAKARTA, Jun 16, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) —— Indonesia identified its first case of bird flu in a human Thursday when a poultry worker tested positive for the disease that has killed 54 in Southeast Asia.

　　The poultry worker from South Sulawesi province was infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, but showed no symptoms of the disease, Health Ministry official Wilfried Purba said. He had a high concentration of antibodies to the disease, Purba said.

　　Millions of poultry died in bird flu outbreaks in Indonesia last year, causing the government to launch a vaccination drive and ban trade in chickens from West Java and South Sulawesi provinces.

　　The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed 54 people across Asia, including 38 Vietnamese, 12 Thais and four Cambodians since late 2003.

　　Although the disease primarily affects poultry and does not spread easily among humans, it could become a threat if it genetically mutates and develops the capacity to be transmitted from human to human.

　　The World Health Organization fears this could trigger a new human flu pandemic in which up to 50 million people worldwide could be killed.