Scientists in China have warned that the "pandemic potential" of a new strain of bird flu "should not be underestimated", after the first known human infection recently resulted in the death of a 73-year-old woman from Nanchang City in south-eastern China.
The new strain is reportedly a variant of a virus known as H10N8, the Independent reported.
The death of the victim, who was the first person confirmed to have been infected with the new type, has raised concerns that the virus has evolved so that it can transfer easily from birds to humans.
Its emergence coincides with a surge in the number of cases of another bird flu strain, H7N9, which is believed to have infected 286 people since March last year, causing 60 deaths.
Fears of a major flu pandemic have been dispelled because, so far, the virus has shown no signs of mutating into a form that can be easily transmitted between humans, with the majority of cases occurring in people who had recently come into contact with poultry.
While the researchers have not found a way of knowing whether the new H10N8 will transfer more easily between humans, they said that great vigilance was required.
The report was published in The Lancet medical journal.