The new H7N9 bird flu virus has spread to the central province of Hunan, China, making this the third case in three days in a new location, local health authorities announced Saturday.
So far 23 people have died from H7N9 and over 110 people in mainland China have been infected since the government first announced that the virus had been found in humans March 31. Most cases have been confined to eastern China, but one case was reported in Taiwan.
In the latest case, a 64-year-old woman in Shaoyang City, who developed a fever four days after coming into contact with poultry, was confirmed to have the virus, the Xinhua state news agency reported. A case of H7N9 was also confirmed in a 54-year-old man living in the eastern province of Jiangxi on Thursday while another case was discovered in the province of Fujian on Friday.
Experts warn of the possibility of more cases spreading in a wider geographical area. "Until the source of H7N9 avian influenza is... brought under effective control, sporadic cases might continue to appear," said Liang Wannian of China's National Health and Family Planning Commission earlier this week.
Poultry has been confirmed as the source of the H7N9 flu among humans, but experts fear that the virus will mutate into a form easily transmissible between humans, triggering a pandemic.
Other bird flu strains like H5N1 have been around for years and can be transmitted from bird to bird, and bird to human, but do not generally pass from human to human.
According to microbiology professor Ho Pak-leung of the University of Hong Kong, the H7N9 flu has already resulted in almost twice as many confirmed infections in China as H5N1 caused there in a decade in only two months.
"H7N9 is much more transmissible to humans, and it's much more difficult to track down," he told the BMJ, adding: "We don't understand why it's so difficult to find."
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
