Indonesia ? Indonesia, the nation hardest hit by bird flu, has recorded its 100th human death as the virus picks up speed across Asia.

Health officials are bracing for more possible outbreaks during the upcoming Lunar New Year, when massive numbers of people and poultry are on the move.

In Indonesia, the H5N1 bird flu virus killed a 9-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman from the outskirts of Jakarta, said Joko Suyono of the National Bird Flu Center.

Two other Indonesians in their 30s, who also tested positive, were being treated in the capital, Suyono said.

Indonesia has recorded nearly half of the 222 human deaths from bird flu detected worldwide since the virus began decimating poultry stocks in late 2003.