transmission of the bird flu virus between human beings has been confirmed

26/6/2006 10:56
WHO officials said the transmission of the bird flu virus between human beings has been confirmed in Indonesia.

It was reported that a woman in Indonedia became infected with the bird flu virus from a chicken and spread it to the rest of her household. WHO confirmed that the entire family died.

An investigation conducted by WTO showed that the deadly bird flu virus mutated in the Indonesian family cluster but experts insisted Friday it did not become easier to transmit between people and increase the possibility of a human pandemic.

It is the first evidence indicating that a person caught the virus from a human and then passed it on to another person.

The deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus first emerged in Asia in 2003.

Since then it has claimed approximately 130 lives across the world, mostly in Asia.

Experts believe it poses the greatest threat yet of a pandemic, a global epidemic of flu that could kill millions, if it acquires the ability to pass easily from human to human.