3rd fatality from H7N9 infection
Source: Xinhua |
April 4, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Two more H7N9 avian flu cases, with one patient already dead, were reported in east China's Zhejiang Province yesterday, bringing the total number in the country to nine.
In a statement, the provincial government said a 38-year-old cook surnamed Hong died on March 27. The man, who worked in Jiangsu Province, where four other cases of H7N9 bird flu have been identified, became ill on March 7 and returned to his home in Jiande, Zhejiang, where he was admitted to a hospital on March 18.
The provincial and national disease control centers confirmed this week that he was infected with H7N9 avian flu.
The other patient, a retired Hangzhou man surnamed Yang, was admitted to a hospital on March 25 with a cough and fever. He was later transferred to another hospital.
Health authorities also confirmed yesterday that he is infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus. No connection between the two cases had been found so far, the statement said.
The 183 people who had been in contact with the two men have shown no symptoms of fever or respiratory illness, the statement added.
Zhejiang has initiated an emergency response for epidemics and relevant departments have been asked to take precautionary measures.
Seven other H7N9 cases had been reported previously, two in Shanghai, one in Anhui and four in Jiangsu.
The two men in Shanghai have died while the other five are in a critical condition and undergoing treatment in Nanjing, Jiangsu's capital.
Four of the patients are from four cities in Jiangsu while the fifth is a woman from neighboring Anhui Province who was transferred to a hospital in Nanjing for better treatment last week.
Sources at the Zhongda Hospital said the woman from Anhui had suffered multiple organ failure, especially in the lungs.
All the patients began showing symptoms of pneumonia in the second half of March. None of them is showing signs of recovery, hospital officials said.
Sales of poultry in markets and restaurants in Jiangsu have remained stable. There were long queues yesterday in front of a deli selling smoked duck in Nanjing.
Vendors at the Yingbin and Caixia markets said the city's health department sent staff to thoroughly disinfect the stalls.
"We have started to pay attention to wearing gloves during poultry culling, but we don't like to wear masks, because we're afraid of scaring away customers. The look may make people worry about bird flu risks," a vendor surnamed Li told Xinhua news agency.
The Ministry of Agriculture said it had yet to find any animals infected with H7N9, though added it was possible it had been brought to China by migratory birds.
The Health and Family Planning Commission said H7N9 vaccines may be available in six to eight months.
Feng Zijian, director of the health emergency center of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said it is impossible that H7N9 could develop into a public health incident like SARS in 2003 that transmitted through humans.
"H7N9 is completely different from SARS, and those who had contact with the nine patients have shown no related symptoms," Xinhua quoted Feng as saying.
With enhanced monitoring, more H7N9 cases will be found in the future, Feng warned.
People at high risks are poultry raisers, sellers, butchers and meat processors, according to guidelines issued by the national health commission.
In a statement, the provincial government said a 38-year-old cook surnamed Hong died on March 27. The man, who worked in Jiangsu Province, where four other cases of H7N9 bird flu have been identified, became ill on March 7 and returned to his home in Jiande, Zhejiang, where he was admitted to a hospital on March 18.
The provincial and national disease control centers confirmed this week that he was infected with H7N9 avian flu.
The other patient, a retired Hangzhou man surnamed Yang, was admitted to a hospital on March 25 with a cough and fever. He was later transferred to another hospital.
Health authorities also confirmed yesterday that he is infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus. No connection between the two cases had been found so far, the statement said.
The 183 people who had been in contact with the two men have shown no symptoms of fever or respiratory illness, the statement added.
Zhejiang has initiated an emergency response for epidemics and relevant departments have been asked to take precautionary measures.
Seven other H7N9 cases had been reported previously, two in Shanghai, one in Anhui and four in Jiangsu.
The two men in Shanghai have died while the other five are in a critical condition and undergoing treatment in Nanjing, Jiangsu's capital.
Four of the patients are from four cities in Jiangsu while the fifth is a woman from neighboring Anhui Province who was transferred to a hospital in Nanjing for better treatment last week.
Sources at the Zhongda Hospital said the woman from Anhui had suffered multiple organ failure, especially in the lungs.
All the patients began showing symptoms of pneumonia in the second half of March. None of them is showing signs of recovery, hospital officials said.
Sales of poultry in markets and restaurants in Jiangsu have remained stable. There were long queues yesterday in front of a deli selling smoked duck in Nanjing.
Vendors at the Yingbin and Caixia markets said the city's health department sent staff to thoroughly disinfect the stalls.
"We have started to pay attention to wearing gloves during poultry culling, but we don't like to wear masks, because we're afraid of scaring away customers. The look may make people worry about bird flu risks," a vendor surnamed Li told Xinhua news agency.
The Ministry of Agriculture said it had yet to find any animals infected with H7N9, though added it was possible it had been brought to China by migratory birds.
The Health and Family Planning Commission said H7N9 vaccines may be available in six to eight months.
Feng Zijian, director of the health emergency center of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said it is impossible that H7N9 could develop into a public health incident like SARS in 2003 that transmitted through humans.
"H7N9 is completely different from SARS, and those who had contact with the nine patients have shown no related symptoms," Xinhua quoted Feng as saying.
With enhanced monitoring, more H7N9 cases will be found in the future, Feng warned.
People at high risks are poultry raisers, sellers, butchers and meat processors, according to guidelines issued by the national health commission.
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