New bird flu strain mutation more contagious

Beijing: A veterinary institute in China has found that the H7N9 bird flu virus has mutated, making the infection of animals significantly easier, but a Chinese health official said the mutation will not increase the risk of human-to-human transmission.

It took researchers at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Harbin Veterinary Research Insti­tute nearly four years to complete their work, which included collecting more than 110,000 samples at live poultry markets, farms and slaughterhouses in most provinces.