"JAKARTA -- Indonesia has identified the bird flu virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of ducks over the past few weeks as a virulent type which is new to the country."

"More than 300,000 ducks in several provinces on the island of Java have died since November, a poultry breeders’ association reported to the Indonesian Agriculture Ministry.

In a letter to local government offices and the World Health Organization, the ministry’s veterinary chief Syukur Iwantoro ...  recommended further research into whether the virus previously found in the country has mutated, or whether the new strain originated overseas. The new strain may have been introduced from outside Indonesia by migratory wild ducks or by poultry imports from other countries.

Now, the new viral strain has claimed its first human victim."

Environment News Service had the story December 18, 2012. [2]