Jakarta - Four Indonesians have died of bird flu this year, bringing the national death toll from the disease to 119, an official said Tuesday.

Three of the victims were from West Java province while the other lived in East Java, said the official, who declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to speak to the media.

The official declined to give further details.

Indonesia has the highest death toll in the world from bird flu.

Since last year Indonesia has stopped announcing bird flu deaths on a case-by-case basis and instead reported them every few months.

The most common way to contract the virus is through human contact with infected fowl.

Bird flu remains chiefly an animal disease, but experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that could transmit between humans and spark a pandemic that could kill millions around the world. (dpa)