Bird flu newly deadly in people doesn't sicken poultry, UN says
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A new bird flu virus that has killed nine people in China is "worrisome" because it is asymptomatic in poultry, the suspected carrier, UN experts said Thursday.
"From the perspective of understanding the transmission, we have a problem because the poultry are secret carriers of the virus," said Subhash Morzaria, regional manager for the Food and Agriculture Organization's emergency centre for transboundry animal diseases.
"This is worrisome because it can be silently spread in its environment," he said.
Scientists remained unsure whether the H7N9 strain of bird flu, first detected in humans in China in February, was transmitted to humans from poultry or some other bird species, such as pigeons or quail, Morzaria said.
Thirty-three human cases of H7N9 have been reported, and nine of those people have died, a high mortality rate for what remains a mysterious disease.//DPA
