WHO expresses concern about large human bird flu cases in Indonesia

Members of an Indonesian family who died of bird flu probably passed the disease among themselves, but health officials said there was no evidence the virus had mutated and decided against raising the pandemic alert level.

Photo: WHO expresses concern about large human bird flu cases in Indonesia

At least six people died and one other was infected in the largest family cluster of bird flu cases likely transmitted from person to person since the virus started ravaging poultry stocks across Asia in 2003, World Health Organization spokesman Gregory Hartl said.

Though other cases of limited human-to-human transmission have been documented, a top U.S. health official said Wednesday this may be the first time bird flu has passed from person to person to person.

Previous clusters all involved someone who was infected by a sick bird and then spread the virus to others. This new cluster appears to involve a cascade of transmission, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The family members' close physical proximity was probably responsible for the spread of the disease, Hartl said.

"It fits the kind of pattern perfectly which we've seen so far," Hartl told The Associated Press in Geneva. Global and U.S. health officials say tests on virus samples taken from the family do not indicate any significant changes.

Bird flu has killed 124 people worldwide, more than a quarter of them in Indonesia. So far, most human cases have been traced to contact with infected poultry.

Experts have long believed the virus is spread when people breathe it in, possibly in dust from bird droppings or in droplets sneezed or coughed by humans into the air, reports the AP.

I.L.