Filthy flood water inundated large parts of Indonesia’s capital today, sparking fears that killer diseases may spread among nearly 340,000 people forced from their homes by the worst flooding to hit the city in recent memory.

A teenager has died of bird flu in eastern Indonesia, raising the country’s human toll from the disease to 47, the health minister said today, citing laboratory test results.

Indonesia’s health minister promised to work harder to protect people from bird flu after two young children died of the H5N1 virus, raising the country’s toll to 22.

China has called bird flu a “serious epidemic” and reported three new outbreaks of the deadly virus in different parts of the country, while Canada announced multiple new cases but stressed they are not the virulent strain that has swept across Asia.

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.

INDONESIA confirmed its fourth human death from bird flu yesterday and said another person was suspected of having the virus as global alarm grew that the disease would mutate and become a pandemic.

INDONESIA confirmed its first human deaths from bird flu yesterday — a man and his two daughters — bringing Asia’s toll from the disease to 57 people.

Indonesia recorded its first human death linked to bird flu today after tests confirmed that a man who died earlier this month had the virus, the health minister said.

Indonesia will vaccinate 24.3 million youngsters in a nationwide campaign to halt a polio epidemic that has infected 122 children across the archipelago, the country’s health minister said today.