Bird flu alerts on three continents

If confirmed, they would be the first human cases in Africa of the virus, which has killed 90 people, mainly in Asia, since 2003, according to the UN.

Virtually all of the more than 160 known human cases worldwide have been contracted by people handling infected poultry, but health experts fear that if the virus mutated into a form that could be transmitted between humans it could kills millions.

In Indonesia, a married couple were under observation at a Jakarta hospital after having developed respiratory problems and high fever after coming into contacts with chickens that died suddenly.

If they test positive for H5N1, it would be the fifth known bird flu 8216;8216;cluster case8217;8217; in Indonesia of infected persons who are related or living in close proximity, a hospital spokesman said.

In Europe, Italy announced that a sixth wild swan tested positive for the H5N1 strain, according to press reports on Monday.While officials in Brussels expected lab results on Tuesday for a dead swan found in Belgium.