Number of bird flu cases "underestimated"

The spread of bird flu may have been underestimated due to a misunderstanding of how it affects the body, according to British scientists. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, experts at Oxford University http://www.ox.ac.uk who have been studying deaths in Vietnam suggest that the disease can attack all parts of the body, and not just the lungs, as previously thought. According to the New England Journal of Medicine http://content.nejm.org , the scientists believe that humans could pass the virus on to each other. Up to now, there have been 33 deaths due to bird flu - all of which were in Asian countries. However, the experts believe that millions could be at risk if the virus acquires the ability to jump from person to person.