Human transmission 'possible' in bird flu case

An Indonesian who died of bird flu after nursing his sick son may have caught the virus in a case of direct human-to-human transmission, the World Health Organisation has said.

The WHO said it was still looking for the source of the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in the village of Kubu Sembelang in North Sumatra, which has killed six people.

The 32-year-old Indonesian man is the latest to die and the WHO said Indonesian health officials had confirmed he was infected with the virus.

"The father was closely involved in caring for his son, and this contact is considered a possible source of infection," the WHO said in a statement.

If it was a case of human-to-human transmission, the virus had not spread very far, it emphasised.

A woman appears to have been the first in the village to become ill at the end of April.

The WHO said it appeared three of the confirmed cases had spent a night in a room with the women when she was symptomatic and coughing frequently.

But it added: "Although human-to-human transmission cannot be ruled out, the search for a possible alternative source of exposure is continuing.

"To date, the investigation has found no evidence of spread within the general community and no evidence that efficient human-to-human transmission has occurred."

Meanwhile, officials in Tehran denied a suspected outbreak in northwestern Iran, although international health officials said they were still investigating.

Health agencies have been on alert after an Iranian medical official said a 41-year-old man and his sister, 26, from the city of Kermanshah had tested positive for bird flu.

But Iran's Health Minister, Kamran Lankarani, denied this: "Fortunately, these two cases were negative for avian flu. There is no confirmed case until now."

- REUTERS