Ban on poultry sales as H7N9 cases hit 16
By Yang Jian |
April 6, 2013, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
All Shanghai's live poultry markets will be closed from today in the wake of six H7N9 bird flu cases, including four deaths, in the city.
More than 20,500 birds have been slaughtered in a bid to prevent the virus spreading.
The moves came after the virus was found in pigeon samples from the Huhuai market in Songjiang District.
China's death toll rose to six yesterday, the latest fatality a 64-year-old farmer who died in Huzhou, the second death in Zhejiang Province.
The number of confirmed cases also rose to 16 when authorities announced two new patients in Shanghai's neighboring Jiangsu Province.
So far, all the reported infections have been in neighboring regions of east China - six in Shanghai, three in Zhejiang, six in Jiangsu and one in Anhui Province.
The new cases, a 61-year-old woman and a 79-year-old man, are being treated in Nanjing, Jiangsu's provincial capital. Both are said to be in a serious condition, Xinhua news agency reported.
Also yesterday, a seven-year-old girl was quarantined in Hong Kong for tests after she returned from Shanghai and showed flu-like symptoms, officials said. But Hong Kong's health authority said last night that the girl tested negative for the H7N9 virus.
Meanwhile, two patients in Shanghai, a four-year-old boy and a 67-year-old woman, are recovering.
The woman, who is being treated at Ruijin Hospital, is now in a stable condition, Wu Fan, director of the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said. The boy is getting much better at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University.
Wu said their recoveries showed that early diagnosis can help control the disease. "The boy was detected with the infection at an early stage and treatment has proved effective," she said.
"The key to controlling the number of H7N9 patients depends on whether the virus can spread among human beings. So far we haven't found any cases that show this kind of virus can spread from people to people," Wu said.
"The most effective way to avoid being infected is to stay away from poultry, which is the only source of the virus so far," Wu added.
Of the 119 people who have had close contact with H7N9 patients in Shanghai, only one has developed flu-like symptoms, including fever.
But a test for H7N9 was negative for the case, Xu Jianguang, director of the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission, said yesterday.
The Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and the Children's Hospital of Fudan University have been designated as hospitals for receiving or treating H7N9 patients in the city.
Wu said the city has sufficient medical personnel and equipment to treat anyone who has been infected with the new virus.
The city government will allocate funds for treatment to ensure there are no delays in treating patients because of a lack of money, Xu said.
A 24-hour hotline, 12320, has been launched for people wanting a consultation.
A total of 20,536 chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons which were slaughtered at the Huhuai live poultry market in Shanghai's Songjiang District have been cremated, Shao Linchu, deputy director of the city's agricultural commission, said yesterday.
Poultry sellers will be paid at least half the market price for the culled birds as compensation, officials said.
Anything that had been in contact with the poultry was thoroughly disinfected before being disposed of.
City residents have been snapping up banlangen, a traditional Chinese medicine for colds made from the roots of the woad plant.
"We sold out. People are buying it one after another. Everyone is afraid of bird flu," said an employee at the SPH drugstore in downtown Shanghai.
However, experts have warned against side effects of the herbal medicine, especially for children and the elderly.
More than 20,500 birds have been slaughtered in a bid to prevent the virus spreading.
The moves came after the virus was found in pigeon samples from the Huhuai market in Songjiang District.
China's death toll rose to six yesterday, the latest fatality a 64-year-old farmer who died in Huzhou, the second death in Zhejiang Province.
The number of confirmed cases also rose to 16 when authorities announced two new patients in Shanghai's neighboring Jiangsu Province.
So far, all the reported infections have been in neighboring regions of east China - six in Shanghai, three in Zhejiang, six in Jiangsu and one in Anhui Province.
The new cases, a 61-year-old woman and a 79-year-old man, are being treated in Nanjing, Jiangsu's provincial capital. Both are said to be in a serious condition, Xinhua news agency reported.
Also yesterday, a seven-year-old girl was quarantined in Hong Kong for tests after she returned from Shanghai and showed flu-like symptoms, officials said. But Hong Kong's health authority said last night that the girl tested negative for the H7N9 virus.
Meanwhile, two patients in Shanghai, a four-year-old boy and a 67-year-old woman, are recovering.
The woman, who is being treated at Ruijin Hospital, is now in a stable condition, Wu Fan, director of the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said. The boy is getting much better at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University.
Wu said their recoveries showed that early diagnosis can help control the disease. "The boy was detected with the infection at an early stage and treatment has proved effective," she said.
"The key to controlling the number of H7N9 patients depends on whether the virus can spread among human beings. So far we haven't found any cases that show this kind of virus can spread from people to people," Wu said.
"The most effective way to avoid being infected is to stay away from poultry, which is the only source of the virus so far," Wu added.
Of the 119 people who have had close contact with H7N9 patients in Shanghai, only one has developed flu-like symptoms, including fever.
But a test for H7N9 was negative for the case, Xu Jianguang, director of the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission, said yesterday.
The Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and the Children's Hospital of Fudan University have been designated as hospitals for receiving or treating H7N9 patients in the city.
Wu said the city has sufficient medical personnel and equipment to treat anyone who has been infected with the new virus.
The city government will allocate funds for treatment to ensure there are no delays in treating patients because of a lack of money, Xu said.
A 24-hour hotline, 12320, has been launched for people wanting a consultation.
A total of 20,536 chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons which were slaughtered at the Huhuai live poultry market in Shanghai's Songjiang District have been cremated, Shao Linchu, deputy director of the city's agricultural commission, said yesterday.
Poultry sellers will be paid at least half the market price for the culled birds as compensation, officials said.
Anything that had been in contact with the poultry was thoroughly disinfected before being disposed of.
City residents have been snapping up banlangen, a traditional Chinese medicine for colds made from the roots of the woad plant.
"We sold out. People are buying it one after another. Everyone is afraid of bird flu," said an employee at the SPH drugstore in downtown Shanghai.
However, experts have warned against side effects of the herbal medicine, especially for children and the elderly.
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