Pakistan confirmed eight infections, including two that caused death. Four brothers and two cousins fell ill last month with bird flu symptoms in Abbotabad, north of Islamabad.

One of the brothers who survived said he fell ill after slaughtering chickens suspected of carrying avian influenza without wearing protective clothing.

He said his brothers who died had visited him in a hospital. Sporadic family clusters of infections have been reported since the virus emerged four years ago, prompting suspicions of human transmission.

WHO warns that should the virus gain the ability to sustain human-to-human transmission, a global pandemic could kill millions, similar to the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic that spread to virtually every corner of the world.

Photo: Laura Blake         Digg This