China announced Friday it had made the first ever discovery of a deadly strain of bird flu in pigs, a development that could have ominous implications for efforts to restrict the disease's spread to humans.
Scientists discovered the lethal H5N1 virus in pigs tested in 2003 and again in others this year, China National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory official Chen Hualan told journalists.
"It is not just the first time it has been found in China but in the world," Chen said, speaking on the sidelines of an International Symposium on the Prevention and Control of SARS and Avian Flu.
A chart she showed during a presentation at the conference indicated the avian influenza virus had been found in several pig farms in China in 2003 and 2004.
Chen, however, refused to provide more details.
"We probably should not talk about this anymore. Don't report it. Once it's reported, it will make a lot of people really scared," Chen said.
Up until now the virus has been found only in birds and poultry and its transmission to humans has been limited.
A senior World Health Organization (WHO) disease expert attending the conference expressed surprise at the revelation.
"It's the first time I heard at the conference that pigs are being reported [to carry the virus]," said Julie Hall, WHO's Beijing-based coordinator for communicable disease surveillance and response.
She expressed concerns the virus could mutate to a more lethal form and spread more easily to humans because pigs are good mixing vessels for viruses from birds and humans.
"Pigs are able to catch both the bird influenza virus as well as human influenza virus. The fear is if those two viruses swap together, they share genetic information and what comes out is more dangerous," Hall said to reporters.
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