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U.S. Working with WHO to Investigate Bird Flu Deaths in Indonesia

Officials from the U.S. Center for Disease Controls are in Indonesia working with the World Health Organization to investigate the latest outbreak of avian flu, which has killed at least six members of the same family in that country.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said May 24 that health officials have not ruled out the possibility that the victims were infected by the virus through human-to-human contact.

However, “it does not appear, at least in the opinion of those who have been studying it, to be either efficient or sustained, in terms of transmission,” he said, and genetic analysis so far has shown “no obvious significant mutations” in the flu virus.

“There is no evidence of transmission outside of that cluster … people who had lived in close proximity had been coughing and sneezing,” Snow said.

He also said Indonesian authorities have been “collaborating very openly” in the investigation.  “They've been very helpful on this,” he said.