New bird flu strain most likely to spread between humans
Monday, 08/04/2013
One of Australia's top infectious diseases specialists is warning that a new strain of bird flu in China is be more likely to transferred between humans than previous strains.
The H7N9 outbreak has killed six people so far and forced Chinese authorities to cull more than 100,000 birds in China's eastern provinces.
So far, all of the 21 people confirmed to be infected with the virus have contracted it directly from animals.
But chairman of the Influenza Specialist Group, Alan Hampson, says the strain has traits which will make it transferable between humans.
"It does appear to have some of the adaptive changes that might make it a humanised virus," he said.
"Another concern is that it's a virus which, unlike a lot of other viruses and the H5 virus, doesn't appear to be making people sick.
"So it can be there in the poultry and not recognised until you start to get the human cases."http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201304/s3731956.htm
