The father of a Chinese man who died in Nanjing last week from the lethal strain of bird flu has also been diagnosed with the disease.

The victim is said to be feverish with the H5N1 strain which raises troublesome questions about how he was infected.

Humans can contract H5N1 from close contact with infected birds, but scientists fear the virus could mutate into a version that spreads from person-to-person, risking wider outbreaks or even a global pandemic.

China’s official news agency had earlier reported that the man’s son had had no contact with dead poultry and there had been no reported outbreak in Nanjing, capital of the eastern Jiangsu province.

Its latest report fails to say whether contact with infected poultry has been confirmed in either cases.

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