Russian official: new bird flu type likely to learn human-to-human transmission

The forecasts that the new type of bird flu A(H5N8) will soon mutate and acquire the ability to be transmitted between humans are likely to come true, Head of Russia’s consumer watchdog Anna Popova said.

"The forecast that it can happen has a rather high probability rate. It is likely to happen. Colleagues say that the zone where the mutation happen is very movable and the mutation there continues. However, we saw that before a disaster happened," TASS cited her as saying.

Popova also lauded the detection of infection cases in people from birds as a "world-level discovery" made by Russian scientists from Novosibirsk’s Vektor Center.