The World Health Organization has revealed that there may be a lower risk of transmission to others in people who test positive for bird flu, but have no symptoms of the disease. These comments were made a day after the grandfather of two bird flu patients tested positive for the virus, but had never fallen ill.
Hanoi-based WHO medical epidemiologist Peter Horby said,” In most infections, or many infections, it is not unusual to get people who have either mild or asymptomatic infections," He added that there was no evidence that asymptomatic infection posed any significant risk of onward transmission.
Experts are concerned about the possibility of the virus mutating into a form, which could pass easily between humans. They say that this could set off a pandemic worldwide.
46 people have died of the H5N1 bird flu virus since it reemerged in large parts of Asia in late 2003.
