The top US health official was reviewing Indonesia’s ability to identify and contain bird flu outbreaks today, warning it will be almost impossible to halt a pandemic if the virus mutates into a more dangerous form.

The top US health official arrived in Jakarta today to discuss ways to respond to the bird flu outbreaks.

The likelihood of a human flu pandemic is very high, US Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said as he begin a tour of south-east Asia to co-ordinate plans to combat bird flu.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates announced a $200m (€184m) grant today to help identify and solve the “grand challenges in global health” that the private sector has little financial incentive to tackle.