Japan Has First Case of Bird Flu in Human

[villager]

Japan Has First Case of Bird Flu in Human



By KOZO MIZOGUCHI, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO - Japan reported its first case of bird flu in a human on Wednesday — a man who got the disease from birds. Bird flu has swept through farms across Asia this year, forcing officials to cull more than 100 million birds. The disease has also jumped to humans, killing 12 people in Thailand and 20 in Vietnam.

Although there has been no evidence of human-to-human transmission, experts worry that the virus could mutate into a version easily spread among people, setting off a global pandemic.

The man caught the bird flu virus while disinfecting a contaminated poultry farm in western Kyoto during an outbreak in Japan earlier this year, the Health Ministry said.

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It was the first confirmed case of human infection from the disease in Japan, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the man showed no symptoms other than a headache that lasted several days.

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