NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Tests on the strain of bird flu virus that has infected more than 15 people in Turkey show it may have evolved in a way that would make it even more dangerous for humans, according to a report by the Washington Post Thursday. Two deaths have been attributed to bird flu in Turkey.
"It's a little concerning because the virus is still trying new things in its evolution, said Michael L. Perdue, who is overseeing the World Health Organization's response to the Turkish outbreak.
But, international health officials say the virus still cannot be passed easily from one person to another, the report said.
According to Perdue, the tests, based on sequencing one of the virus's genes, show at least some of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Turkey displays a change in one of its proteins.
The British Medical Research Council, which is involved in the research, said it would take a few days to confirm preliminary findings, the Post reported.
Based on evidence so far, however, experts believe the genetic change may make it easier for bird flu to pass from chickens to people. If the virus is eventually passed easily from one person to another, it could trigger a global epidemic.
Nancy J. Cox, head of the influenza branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said the change was found in one sample of H5N1 isolated from a Turkish child who recently died of the infection, the Post reported. Other incremental changes have appeared in the virus in China and Vietnam since outbreaks began in 2003.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
