Swine flu: First human to human transfer in Germany

The new type of swine flu has jumped from one human to another in Germany for the first time with a nurse in Bavaria apparently catching the virus from a patient who had been in Mexico, officials said on Friday.

The new type of swine flu has jumped from one human to another in Germany for the first time with a nurse in Bavaria apparently catching the virus from a patient who had been in Mexico, officials said on Friday.

The case brings the confirmed tally of the H1N1 infections in Germany to five, with a national health official, Joerg Hacker of the Robert Koch Institute, describing the cases as "generally mild".

An inquiry has begun into how the 42-year-old woman picked up the illness from a male patient in a hospital at Mallersdorf, 100 km northeast of Munich, despite quarantine precautions.

The nurse is already recovering, the National Reference Centre for Influenza in Berlin said.

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