No evidence of human-to-human avian flu transmission - WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Monday that the 14 people confirmed with avian flu contracted the deadly disease through contact with infected animals rather than infected humans. "Now there are 14 cases confirmed and because we have different locations it is clear that it’s poultry that are infected around the country," Luigi Migliori, head of the WHO mission in Turkey, said from the eastern Turkish province of Van. "It seems that it is from animal to human [transmission]," Migliori added. The first cases of the infection came from the province of Van last week. Guenael Rodier, a senior specialist for communicable diseases with the WHO’s Europe regional office, also said the disease continued to be spread by infected birds. "For the moment, there is absolutely no reason which makes me think that human-to-human transmission is occurring, it is from animal to human transmission," he said. According to the WHO, avian influenza, or 'bird flu', is a contagious disease of animals caused by viruses that normally infect only birds and less commonly, pigs. Avian influenza viruses are highly species specific, but in some cases infect humans. Three siblings died over the past few days in Van and laboratory tests have confirmed that they died of avian influenza, media reports said. The victims were infected with the H5N1 killer strain, which has claimed the lives of more than 70 people in Asia since 2003. "All the preliminary data and information support the fact that the avian influenza outbreaks in households are in a way very similar to what we've seen in Asia so far. We are talking about family clusters, siblings from the same family - 90 percent children and always with a strong link to infected birds, particularly backyard poultry," Rodier explained. The outbreaks of highly pathogenic bird flu, which began in Southeast Asia in mid-2003, are the largest and most severe on record, the WHO said, adding that never before in the history of the disease had so many countries been simultaneously affected, resulting in the loss of so many birds. On Sunday, three H5N1 cases were reported in the Turkish capital Ankara, and two more in Van. Ankara is about 1,000 km west of Van. The cases in Ankara included two young brothers and a 65-year-old man, all of whom tested positive for H5N1 in preliminary tests by Turkish laboratories. The causative agent, the H5N1 virus, has proved to be especially tenacious. Despite the death or destruction of an estimated 150 million birds, the virus is now considered endemic in many parts of Indonesia and Vietnam and in some parts of Cambodia, China and Thailand. "We may have larger fronts in terms of infected birds, it seems the diseases in animals, in birds particular, may be more widespread than it was initially thought," Rodier maintained. But there is still real concern that the disease could mutate. "The more human infections [of bird flu], the more chance for the virus to adapt to humans. The more people contract the infection from poultry, the higher is the risk that the virus starts to adapt itself and mutate," Rodier warned. On Monday, Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag, along with WHO officials, arrived in Dogubayazit in Van province, where most of the cases have originated. "If as a community, we take the necessary measures and educate (people) we can in a short period of time combat this," Akdag said. "We will manage to slow its progress." He said, however, that because Turkey was on the path of migratory birds, the country would continue to be at risk in years to come and urged people to stop raising poultry in backyards.