Despite three deaths from the disease in a month, Chinese health officials are denying that the bird flu has reached epidemic proportions. From AP:
The ministry said the illnesses, which have been scattered across different provinces, were isolated, unrelated and did not show significant mutations of the H5N1 virus.
They also occurred during the cold months, which experts have determined are high season for infections, it said.
“There’s no evidence of a possibility of a large-scale outbreak,” the ministry said in a faxed statement to The Associated Press.