Ministry: Bird flu cases originated from poultry

OFFICIALS confirmed that the bird flu virus that killed a man and infected his father in Jiangsu Province was a "poultry-originated virus" and cannot spread from person to person, Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the Ministry of Health, said in a press conference this morning.

The H5N1 virus has not mutated according to the gene analysis of the virus, Mao said. The cause for the two infections was still being investigated, as both had no contact with poultry before becoming ill.

No clinical symptoms of bird flu have been found among the 83 people who have had close contact with the two patients, the ministry confirmed.

Sixty-nine people were in close contact with the first patient, and only his father has shown symptoms of bird flu. Six people who had close contact with both patients are still under close observation while 55 others have been released.

A 24-year-old man, surnamed Lu, died of bird flu on December 3, China's 17th fatality from the disease. Before he developed symptoms, Lu was at home preparing for an exam and had no contact with infected or deceased fowl, Xinhua news agency reported earlier.

Doctors confirmed that Lu's father, 52, had the H5N1 virus four days after his son's death, creating crucial questions about how the two infections occurred.

The World Health Organization said it could not rule out the possibility of human-to-human infection after the cases.

Humans can contract H5N1 from close contact with infected birds, but scientists fear the disease could mutate into a version that spreads from person to person, risking wider outbreaks or even a global pandemic.