Dog flu not a threat to humans

A new dog flu virus that has killed some racing greyhounds made an unusual jump from horses to dogs and may threaten pets but not people, experts said.

The virus can also infect dogs without making them sick, meaning it is not as deadly as some reports have suggested.

But studying it has important implications for understanding the H5N1 avian flu virus now devastating flocks of poultry and which has killed 65 people in four Asian nations since late 2003.