Bird Flu Outbreak in China

H7N9 bird flu virus increases its death toll and number of infections in China. As reported in a state-run Shanghai daily newspaper, 10 people have died out of 38 confirmed cases of the virus.

Most of the people infected came from Eastern China. Eastern Chinese live poultry markets’ have been closing and they’ve been taking necessary actions to limit the spread of the new virus.

According to the report of Xinhua, the source of the virus was not yet identified. However, Chinese researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the source is “traceable to wild birds from East Asia and chickens from East China.”

Scientists around the world extended its appreciation in the way that China is handling its deadly outbreak although there are still issues on why the government waited for weeks before they publicized the bird flu cases. Health officials clarified that, however, it took time to identify the virus.

A vaccine for H7N9 has been approved by China Food and Drug Administration, according to the China Securities Journal. This will be ready in the coming months.

On issue of human-to-human transmission of the virus, the World Health Organization’s investigation found no firm evidence on the matter.

As reported, there have been no cases of the new flu outside China.

Source: reuters.com, usatoday.com, forbes.com