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The technique involves substituting harmless influenza genes for the ones that make the strain lethal to birds. In a conference call on Tuesday, two of the laboratories said that they had completed the first step in the reverse genetics technique and expected to begin testing the resulting virus in chickens and ferrets by next week. The scientists must make sure that the manufactured virus is harmless to chickens because it must be grown in live eggs. Any vaccine produced from such research will have to be tested in people before it is marketed

The other two groups are the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health, which held a meeting in Rome on Tuesday. The organizations and virologists there said that no measure could be ruled out because of the ''unprecedented'' nature of the current epidemic. It is caused by a strain of the A(H5N1) avian influenza virus that mutated from one that caused smaller outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003. The mutant A(H5N1) strain has killed birds in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. As of yesterday, the W.H.O. said there were 20 known human cases, 16 of them fatal, in Thailand and Vietnam. The virus is grown in live eggs and then killed before it is used as a vaccine. But because the avian influenza virus can kill chicken eggs, manufacturers have had to compromise by using a different and weaker strain, A(H5N2) and not A(H5N1), to make the vaccines, Dr. [Klaus Stohr] said

Last week, WHO said it hoped to develop a seed virus that the UN agency in Geneva can provide in two months at no cost to drug companies so they can make a human vaccine. With the possible exception of two cases in Vietnam, there has been no person-to- person transmission of the A(H5N1) strain that is now spreading in Asia. The new strain has mutated from one that caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003, and experts fear that the new strain could cause a worldwide epidemic if it ever combines with a human influenza virus. The chance that such a recombination will occur is low, but WHO is pushing ahead to develop a human vaccine as a precautionary measure, said Dr. Klaus Stohr, leader of the agency's influenza program. Things are evolving according to schedule, he said Tuesday

Meanwhile, scientists have passed the first major hurdle in the complex process of developing an experimental bird flu vaccine for humans in case it is needed, an official of the World Health Organization said. The scientists are also working to develop a safer and easier test to detect the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza now spreading across Asia, a mutation of the strain that caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003. The technique involves substituting harmless influenza genes for the ones that make the strain lethal to birds. In a conference call on Tuesday, two of the laboratories said that they had completed the first step in the reverse genetics technique and expected to begin testing the resulting virus in chickens and ferrets by next week, Dr. [Klaus Stohr] said in a telephone interview

Avian influenza is still spreading in Asia despite the slaughter of millions of chickens and other poultry, but scientists say they have passed the first major hurdle in the complex process of developing an experimental bird flu vaccine for humans. An official of the World Health Organization said scientists also are working to develop a safer and easier test to detect the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza now spreading across Asia, a mutation of the strain that caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003

Recent reports about avian influenza in Asia have come almost daily, creating an impression that the viral disease is spreading among countries as fast as birds fly. Indeed, avian influenza has moved rapidly. The simultaneous appearance of avian influenza in eight countries, particularly in one region, is ''unprecedented,'' the World Health Organization says. The A(H5N1) strain of current concern is a mutation of the same bird flu virus that caused outbreaks among chickens in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003, when the virus infected 20 people, 7 fatally. Now the mutated strain has caused 14 human cases, of which 11 were fatal, and led to the slaughter of 25 million birds. The human cases were believed to have resulted from direct contact with infected chickens, except for possibly two cases in Vietnam. Avian influenza was first described in Italy a century ago, but health officials have lacked the monitoring systems to track small outbreaks in birds or humans over time. Another unknown is what allowed A(H5N1) to mutate to become virulent among ducks and other migratory aquatic birds when the older strain was less harmful. The virus has been isolated recently from various species of ducks, geese, swans and flamingos, Dr. [Klaus Stohr] said

The cluster in Vietnam brings to 10 the number of human infections in Vietnam from the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza. Eight have died, one has recovered and one is in a hospital. Health officials have linked all human cases in Vietnam, except possibly for some of those in the family group, to contact with infected poultry. Vietnam was the first country where avian influenza was detected this winter. Tests showed that the A(H5N1) strain had mutated from the one that had caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003. The disease, which is spread mainly in feces but also in saliva and respiratory secretions, is widespread in Vietnam

Because the virus apparently 'vanished' after causing the cluster of infections, [Klaus Stoehr] said his agency does not consider the possible person-to-person spread a major public health threat. Similar transmission limited to a short chain of people and with a definite end occurred in earlier avian influenza outbreaks in Hong Kong, he said. The cluster in Vietnam brings to 10 the number of human infections in Vietnam from the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza, or bird flu. Eight have died, one has recovered and one is in a hospital. Health officials have linked all human cases in Vietnam, except possibly for some of those in the family group, to contact with infected poultry

The cluster brings to 10 the number of human infections in Vietnam from the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza. Eight have died. A ninth has recovered. The tenth is in a hospital. [The deputy director of the Tropical Disease Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Tinh Hien, said Monday that an 18-year-old patient there, the 11th case in Vietnam, had died of bird flu, Agence France-Presse reported.] Vietnamese health officials have linked all human cases there, except possibly for some in the family group, to contact with infected poultry. Vietnam was the first country where bird flu was detected this winter. Tests showed that the A(H5N1) strain had mutated from the one that caused outbreaks in Hong Kong in 1997 and 2003. The disease, which is spread mainly in feces but also in saliva and respiratory secretions, is widespread in Vietnam. Scientists are also analyzing the molecular structure of the virus isolated from the cluster to determine if it differs from that found among other cases in Vietnam. If small changes were found, Dr. [Klaus Stohr] said, they would be of interest to virologists but would be unlikely to have public health significance. But if the virus has picked up genes from a human flu virus, it will be of concern to health officials everywhere

The Central African Republic, polio-free since 2000, has confirmed a new case, the World Health Organization said