Bird Flu Virus Spreads in China

The total number of persons infected with the H7N9 virus has risen to 21, as Chinese authorities and scientists try to contain the spread of the virus.

The virus outbreak has initially claimed the lives of six people, four from Shanghai and two from the neighboring province of Zhejiang.

State-run media outlet Xinhua earlier reported that authorities have killed more than 20, 000 birds from a poultry market in Shanghai after the strain of the bird flu virus was found in the fowls.

Chinese authorities have further suspended sales of live poultry. In Shanghai, workers sprayed disinfectants to the empty birdcages at a local market in the city center.  The ban on live poultry sales has also been extended to the city of Nianjing.

According to the World Health Organization(WHO), there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

The head of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, Li Bin, said that the Chinese government is currently mobilizing national resources to combat the spread of the bird flu virus in the country.

Li Bin also said that the government is confident they can control further spread of the virus. Chinese state media reported that the government is now gearing towards improved transparency and information disclosure of the disease.

Adapted by: Easterlyn Kwan Benigay

Sources: aljazeera.com, cnn.com, washingtontimes.com