A new version of the H7N9 avian influenza virus might be able to cause widespread infection and should be closely monitored, scientists say, although it currently doesn’t spread easily between people.
Researchers isolated the virus from a fatal human case and tested it and two genetically modified versions in ferrets, which are susceptible to both human and bird flu viruses. The tested viruses can spread to other ferrets through airborne fluid droplets like those released by a cough or a sneeze, sometimes turning deadly, researchers report October 19 in Cell Host and Microbe.