This Monday, April 15, 2013 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the H7N9 virus which can take on a variety of shapes. . AP FILE PHOTO
BEIJING — Chinese health officials say the 4-year-old son of a man infected with a new strain of bird flu has also caught the virus.
Shandong province’s health department says there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, and that the boy is in stable condition at a hospital.
The Jinan Times newspaper says the boy’s 36-year-old father had no direct contact with poultry, but that the family lives near a market that sells live poultry.
The H7N9 virus has infected 126 people in China, killing 23 of them. Experts are watching it closely for any sign it could spark a pandemic, but say so far there is no evidence it can spread easily among people. They believe infections are caused by some kind of contact with sick birds.