Five Dead of Bird Flu in China as Virus Found in Pigeons
(
Bloomberg) Five people have died from the new strain of bird flu that emerged in eastern China as authorities detected the virus in pigeon samples collected at a marketplace.
Shanghai, Chinas financial hub, has reported six of the 14 human cases of the H7N9 strain of avian influenza confirmed by local authorities since the countrys health ministry reported the first cases last month, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.
One of the people who died in Shanghai transported poultry, Xinhua said. Theres no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus, the World Health Organization said yesterday in a statement. The extent of the outbreak, the source of infection and the mode of transmission are being investigated, and its too early to tell whether the cases may signal a pandemic, according to the WHO.
How widespread the illness is at this very early stage, we dont know, said Alan Hampson, chairman of the Australian Influenza Specialist Group, in an e-mailed statement. We dont know whether were seeing the tip of the iceberg or whether were actually seeing most of the existing cases presenting as severe infection. If its the latter then its a concern. ..................(more)
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