4-yr-old whose father has bird flu also infected

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.