No human to human transmission of bird flu, officials say

OFFICIALS have confirmed that the bird flu virus that killed a man and infected his father in Jiangsu Province cannot spread from human to human, the Ministry of Health said today.

The cause for the two infections was still being investigated, as both had no contact with poultry before becoming ill.

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.

Scientists fear the disease could mutate into a version that spreads from person to person, risking wider outbreaks or even a global pandemic.