CDC Researchers Studying New Strain of “Bird Flu”

A new strain of so-called “bird flu” has sprung up in China.

The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already has a team working on it. The two goals: to find out whether the H7/N9 virus, which has killed four people, is transmittable between humans and to find out how far it has spread.

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner says scientists in China and Atlanta are in on the study even though researchers here don’t yet have a sample of the virus. “The genetic sequences of the virus are shared on through a database,” said Skinner. “And then there are actual companies that can develop synthetic genes for these viruses that can then be used by us here at CDC to come up with a seed virus for a vaccine should we ever need a vaccine.” 

Skinner says it is too early to know whether that will be necessary. Health experts identified the virus as a new one in humans just a few days ago. So far, 11 cases are confirmed.An audio version of this story