China bird flu outbreak climbs to 51 cases
The Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission notified the WHO of an additional two laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with influenza A(H7N9) virus from Henan, according to a WHO update April 14.
The first patient is a 34-year-old man, a restaurant chef in Weishi county of Kaifeng city, who became ill on 6 April 2013. He is in a critical condition and under ICU treatment in a local hospital.
The second patient is a 65-year-old man who became ill on 8 April 2013. He had frequent contacts with poultry on his residence. He is in a stable condition after receiving treatment, according to a Xinhua report.
To date, a total of 51 patients have been laboratory-confirmed with influenza A(H7N9) virus in China; including 11 deaths.
So far, there is no evidence of ongoing human-to-human transmission, says the UN agency.
Two confirmed cases have been associated with possible family clusters, in which one and two additional family members,respectively, developed severe pneumonia. Close contacts of confirmed cases and health care workers caring for cases have been monitored for infection. So far, among the contacts who have been tested by polymerase chain reaction, none has been shown to have infection.
The WHO acknowledges there are several gaps in critical information at this time, including the animal reservoir(s)in which this virus is circulating, the main exposures and routes of transmission for how human infections have been acquired, and the current scope of the spread of this virus among animal and human populations.
The WHO seems to downplay the pandemic potential of H7N9 saying, at this time, there is no information to indicate international spread of this virus. However, it is possible that an infected person, who may or may not have symptoms, could travel to another country. However, if the virus cannot sustain human-to-human transmission, as appears to be the current situation, then extensive community spread is unlikely.
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