A ray of hope is on the horizon for the bird flu scare gripping China for three weeks now as scientists from the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) on Tuesday said the influenza A H7N9 virus showed to be combination of genes from various viruses.

Still uncontained since it first captured global attention, the new influenza A H7N9 virus that has killed 22 people in China has spread out to conquer a new area, this time the country's province of Shandong.

In a statement, CAAS said studies performed by its Haerbin Veterinary Research Institute showed that six of the inner genes of the new influenza A H7N9 virus came from the H9N2 bird flu virus. But origins of its other components, including the hemagglutinin (HA) gene and neuraminidase (NA) gene, remain unclear and unknown.

Published in the latest English version of Chinese Science Bulletin, CAAS said it would continue research work to further detect the sources of the new influenza A H7N9 virus as well as its transmission channels.

Meantime, the new influenza A H7N9 virus has now added Shandong province into its list of infiltrated areas in China. Earlier, the virus was present only at commercial hub Shanghai and three nearby provinces, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui.

Total confirmed infections have reached 108 as of Tuesday.

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