Three Indonesian children are suspected to be the latest victims of bird flu, which the Asian Development Bank said could trigger a global recession if a pandemic breaks out.
Asian Development Bank
Underlining the increasing urgency in tackling the H5N1 avian flu virus, the United States and China announced new efforts to fight a possible pandemic, including $500 million to monitor the virus in poultry.
Five Southeast Asian nations also said they would boost cooperation to fight the virus, which has killed 62 people in Asia and infected 122 since late 2003. The disease has since spread to Europe and it is feared migratory birds could carry it to Africa.
The ADB said a year-long shock from bird flu in humans would cost Asian economies as much as $283 billion and would reduce the region's gross domestic product by 6.5 percentage points, hitting the trading hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore the hardest.
"Avian flu presents a major potential challenge to the development of the region, perhaps the most serious since the financial crisis of 1997," said the Manila-based ADB.
"A pandemic will likely slow or halt economic growth in Asia and lead to a significant reduction in trade, particularly of services. In the long run, potential economic growth will be lower and poverty will increase."
The World Bank, in its twice-yearly report on East Asia's economies, said avian flu was a big risk to growth in 2006 due to potential policy actions such as quarantines and travel restrictions.