WHO: bird flu may have passed between humans

cctv.com 02-02-2004 13:50

The World Health Organization says human-to-human transmission of bird flu is a possible explanation for two deaths in Vietnam, in what could be a first in Asia's latest bird flu crisis. Scientists had believed and health officials hoped that the disease could only be contracted through exposure to infected birds or droppings.

But the deaths of two Vietnamese sisters late last month challenged the theory. The sisters are part of a cluster of four cases of respiratory illness in the northern province of Thai Binh. The cluster included the two sisters, their brother and his wife. The brother died shortly before his sisters were admitted to hospital. In an apparent bid to play down concerns about humans passing the disease onto each other, the WHO cautioned there was no evidence of efficient human-to-human transmission of H5N1 in Vietnam or elsewhere.

Editor:Xiao  Source:CCTV.com