At least 1,176 poultry chickens in multiple villages in Indonesia have perished from the avian flu virus in January 2010 alone, a marked increase from 708 chicken deaths in all of 2009.

Elsewhere, bird flu among farmed chickens has been reported in Âu Lạc (Vietnam), Bangladesh, Israel, and India, with up to thousands of birds killed in an attempt to contain the disease.

In human cases, an Indonesian 3-year-old and an infant are among the most recent to have been afflicted, with infections that are caused by direct contact with infected birds or consumption of contaminated meat.

Meanwhile, the swine flu, which is another active animal-borne disease, continues to spread. Fatalities are still rising in various countries, although actual death tolls worldwide are too high to be realistically counted.

China has reported 775 deaths, with India recording 1,259, while Hungary announced that 112 people have perished as people seeking medical care for flu-like symptoms have been increasing over the past two weeks.

We sympathize for the countless victims of swine flu, bird flu, and other livestock-related diseases. Let us work to prevent the risk of further outbreaks as well as new viruses by stopping the mass confinement of animals and adopting the humane, health-promoting organic vegan diet.

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