Current H7N9 wave rivals last spring’s case total

Lisa Schnirring
CIDRAP News
Jan 27, 2014

China’s steady rise in H7N9 avian flu cases continued over the past 3 days, with 14 new cases from five provinces, as the latest test results in poultry showed a conflicting picture of the virus on farms, including positive samples found today in birds sent to Hong Kong.

The fresh round of infections—coming at a pace matching last year’s peak—could soon eclipse last spring’s outbreak totals and come as poultry trade and consumption are high in the lead-up to Lunar New Year celebrations later this week.

So far 116 cases have been reported since October 2013, a number that could soon reach or exceed the 136 H7N9 illnesses reported during the outbreak’s first wave last spring, a number that includes 2 July cases.

Though the virus doesn’t currently appear to spread easily among humans through the airborne route, China’s cultural traditions involving live poultry, where the virus spreads silently, put exposed people at risk for zoonotic infections that can quickly progress to severe pneumonia.

Hot spots report more cases, WHO provides more details

The Rest…HERE

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 28th, 2014 at 1:48 am and is filed under China, Health, Pandemic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.