An exotic flu strain identified in Hong Kong appears to have crossed from pigs to humans, triggering memories of a global flu pandemic which killed 20 million people in 1918.
Although health officials in the former colony are anxious not to cause panic, they are monitoring the new strain closely.
The infection, reported in New Scientist magazine, was identified in a 10-month-old girl admitted to Hong Kong's Tuen Mun hospital in late September.
A chicken flu strain caused panicAlthough she was successfully treated, the virus bears all the molecular hallmarks of a porcine, or pig, strain.
This is a source of concern because research published in 1997 suggested that a virus which jumped from pigs to people was the source of the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918.
Alan Hay, director of the World Health Organisation influenza collaborating centre at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, said: "We're monitoring the case very carefully for that reason. We don't know the ins and outs of this yet."
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