From the New York Times, February 1, 2008: "Three people died of bird flu this week, pushing the total number of deaths in Indonesia to 101, nearly half of all the human deaths in the world from bird flu. The other countries with the highest reported deaths are Vietnam, with 48; Egypt, with 19; and China and Thailand, each with 17, according to the World Health Organization. The mortality rate in Indonesia is also the highest in the world. Only 24 people reported to have been infected have survived. The virus is known to have infected at least 357 people around the world in 14 countries, killing 224 of them, according to the World Health Organization. Experts say that because of poor reporting of infections and deaths, the true number could be much higher. The concern among health workers is that the virus could mutate to allow easy transmission from human to human, raising the possibility of a worldwide epidemic. No one is sure why so many people are dying in Indonesia or why the survival rate is so low. Public health experts say that there could be a lag in response and treatment here or that the strain of the virus could be harder to treat than elsewhere." Registration may be required to view the article on the New York Times web-site.

The GLCRSP Avian Flu School project (AFS) has developed an international train-the-trainer course covering the essential skills for prevention and detection of and response to an H5N1 HPAI outbreak. The AFS project has just completed international, national, regional, district, and village level roll-outs of the program in Eastern and Western Africa.