The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned a new mutant strain of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus could lead to a major resurgence of the disease.
The FAO says the new variant of the virus is not stopped by existing vaccines and is spreading in China and Vietnam. The U.N. agency says the virus also poses a direct threat to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Korean peninsula and Japan.
Last week, the FAO announced another death in Cambodia, which has suffered eight fatalities from the virus this year.
The agency says the virus also has recently affected areas including Romania, Bulgaria, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Nepal and Mongolia.
The U.N. says there have been a total of 565 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans since 2003, including 331 deaths.