China Confirms December Case of Human to Human Bird Flu Transmission

Chinese health officials have confirmed earlier speculation that a father contracted bird flu from his son last December.

Researchers from Beijing's Chinese Center for Disease Control said a 24-year-old man spread the disease to his 52-year-old father in China's eastern province of Jiangsu. The son died, but the father survived.

In a report released Tuesday, the researchers said tests showed the two men were infected with almost genetically identical strains of the H5N1 virus. They also found that 91 people who had come into close contact with the men had not been infected with the virus.

Cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus are rare, but another case from December was confirmed in Pakistan last week. Most people who contract the virus have come into contact with infected birds.

On Monday, officials in South Korea and China confirmed fresh outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of bird flu.