JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Hundreds of thousands of ducks that died recently in Indonesia succumbed to a more virulent type of bird flu of a different clade or group that is new to the country, according to a letter viewed Tuesday (December 11th) by AFP.

The letter from the agriculture ministry's veterinary chief Syukur Iwantoro, described "a highly pathogenic avian influenza sub-type H5N1 (virus) with clade 2.3 ... a new clade found for the first time in Indonesia, that is very different to the avian influenza found before, which is clade 2.1."

A poultry breeders' association reported that since November, more than 300,000 ducks died in several provinces on Java Island.