Study show new H5N1 strain may mutate in pigs

A high proportion of pigs in Indonesia carry the highly infectious H5N1 avian influenza virus--something that could mutate into a new strain inside the pigs, according to research by the Kobe University Centre for Infectious Diseases, Japan.

It is feared that if the virus mutates inside pigs and becomes transmittable between humans, it could pose a far greater threat to people than the current outbreak of swine flu.

The centre detected the H5N1 virus in 52 pigs - more than one in ten of the 402 pigs it examined in four Indonesian provinces. Pigs are capable of transmitting the virus to birds and people.

On further analysis of the H5N1 virus detected in the 52 pigs, the centre found a strain of a type of virus that could be transmitted to humans in some cases.