H7N9: China bird flu total hits 350
The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is closely monitoring, as of yesterday (February 19), two additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Foshan and Hunan according to the latest reports of the Mainland health authorities.
Under a high magnification, this negatively-stained transmission electron micrograph (TEM) captured some of the ultrastructural details exhibited by the new influenza A (H7N9) virus.
Image/CDC
The case in Foshan involves a man aged 79 while the case in Hunan is a woman aged 29. They are hospitalised for treatment.
As of yesterday, a total of 350 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (135 cases), Guangdong (70 cases), Jiangsu (41 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Fujian (20 cases), Hunan (14 cases), Anhui (eight cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Beijing (four cases), Henan (four cases), Guangxi (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Hebei (one case).
In related news, the FAO reported that here is no evidence that human patients infected with influenza A(H7N9), a low pathogenic virus in poultry, can transmit the virus to animals, including birds. This was in reference to the imported H7N9 avian flu case in Malaysia reported last week.
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