Bird flu has killed again in Indonesia and is picking up speed elsewhere in Asia, with fresh outbreaks in Vietnam and a new human case reported in China, officials said today.

Australia urged calm today over fears about the spread of bird flu as it hosted disaster co-ordinators from Pacific Rim nations to hammer out ways to stop emerging diseases from skipping across the region’s borders.

Australia would consider shutting its borders if bird flu triggered a lethal human pandemic in the region, Australia’s foreign minister said today as disaster co-ordinators from Pacific rim countries gathered in Brisbane to discuss ways to head off such a crisis.