New bird flu strain described as among ‘most lethal’ viruses

A new strain of bird flu that emerged in China during the past month is one of the ‘‘most lethal’’ flu viruses so far, worrying health officials because it can jump more easily from birds to humans than the one that started killing people a decade ago, officials of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

Scientists are watching the virus closely to see if it could cause a global pandemic but say there is little evidence that it can spread easily from human to human.

The W.H.O.’s top influenza expert, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, said at a briefing in Beijing that people seem to catch the H7N9 virus from birds more easily than the H5N1 strain, which began ravaging poultry across Asia in 2003. The H5N1 strain has since killed 360 people worldwide, mostly after contact with infected poultry.

Health experts are concerned about H7N9’s ability to jump to humans, and about the strain’s capacity to infect birds without causing noticeable symptoms, which makes it difficult to monitor its spread.

‘‘This is definitely one of the most lethal influenza viruses we have seen so far,’’ Dr. Fukuda said. But he added that experts were still trying to understand the virus and that there might be a large number of mild infections that were going undetected.

The H7N9 bird flu virus has infected more than 100 people in China, seriously sickening most of them and killing more than 20, mostly near the eastern coast around Shanghai. In comparison, the earlier bird flu strain, H5N1, is known to kill as many as 60 of every 100 people it infects.

The briefing on Wednesday came at the end of a weeklong joint investigation by the W.H.O. and the Chinese authorities in Beijing and Shanghai.

Experts said that they still were not sure how people were getting infected but that evidence pointed to infections at live poultry markets, particularly through ducks and chickens. They said it was encouraging that reported infections appeared to slow after the closing of live poultry markets in affected areas.

Taiwan on Wednesday confirmed its first case of the new virus, a 53-year-old man who became sick after returning from a visit to the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.

Suspect in country 20 years

Both suspects in alleged terror plot plead not guilty

MONTREAL and TORONTO — Alleged Via railway bomb plotter Chiheb Esseghaier, bespectacled and heavily bearded, was flanked by two jail guards Tuesday during a court appearance in which he suggested he was framed.

The 30-year-old Tunisian national opted to represent himself during the brief appearance in a highly secured wing of the Montreal courthouse.

“The conclusions were made based on facts and words that are only illusions,” the Ph.D student told Quebec court judge Pierre Labelle as dozens of journalists looked on.

Esseghaier, believed to be the ringleader of a plot to blow up a passenger train between New York City and Toronto, faces six charges — three more than his co-accused, Raed Jaser of Markham, Ont.

Esseghaier is the only one charged with knowingly instructing someone to carry out terrorist activity, which he allegedly did between April 1 and Sept. 25 of last year.

At the Toronto courthouse, Jaser, 35, was remanded back to custody until May 23. He’s charged with conspiracy to interfere with transportation, conspiracy to commit murder and participating in a terrorist organization.

Unlike Jaser’s appearance earlier Tuesday, Esseghaier did not appear to have family or friends in the Montreal courtroom.

The indictment says the 30-year-old Montrealer has “no fixed address.” He was arraigned in Montreal because he was arrested in the city on Monday afternoon across the street from Central Station, a main hub for Via Rail trains.

Crown prosecutor Richard Roy told the court that an RCMP officer recognized Esseghaier, called him out by name and arrested him after the suspect responded.

He’s expected to be flown back to Toronto to face court again Wednesday.

In Toronto, Jaser, also bearded and wearing a grey traditional Islamic dress, stood with his arms folded in the prisoner’s box

He spoke his name and confirmed he was fluent in English to the Justice of the Peace.

As a number of family members left the court, they remained silent.

A man who identified himself as Jaser’s father said, “I’m here to support my son.”

His laywer said Jaser intends to fight the charges “vigorously.”

John Norris also said his client has been settled in Canada for 20 years, despite the police indicating during a press conference Monday that he was not settled here.