China bird flu outbreak: Number infected now at nine, three deaths
With two additional cases of H7N9 bird flu reported from east China’s Zhejiang Province, the total number of cases in this outbreak of an avian virus now seen in humans rises to nine, including three fatalities, according to a Xinhua report April 3.
Image/CIA
According to a statement from the provincial health department, a 38-year-old chef surnamed Hong died on March 27. The man, who worked in Jiangsu Province, where four other cases of H7N9 bird flu have been identified, became ill on March 7 and returned to his home in Jiande, Zhejiang, where he was admitted to a hospital on March 18.
The other patient, a retired 67-year-old Hangzhou man surnamed Yang, was admitted to a hospital on March 25 with a cough and fever. He was transferred to another hospital for better treatment and remains hospitalized, according to the statement.
More than 180 people who had contact with the two victims have been monitored and are not showing symptoms of the disease.
According to Reuters, The World Health Organization said it was “following the event closely” and was in contact with Chinese authorities, which it said were actively investigating the cases amid heightened disease surveillance.
Flu experts across the world are studying samples isolated from the patients to assess H7N9’S human pandemic potential.
Preliminary testing reveals that this novel strain of avian influenza is susceptible to the antivirals, Tamiflu and Relenza.
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