China reports another human bird flu death totaling three

An SVG map of China with Zhejiang province highlighted Legend: Image:China map legend.png (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A man in the Chinese province of Zhejiang has died of the H7N9 strain of bird flu, state media said Wednesday, bringing the total deaths attributed to the virus to three since the first human cases.

He was one of two H7N9 avian influenza infections reported in Zhejiang in eastern China, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local authorities, bringing the country’s total number of cases to nine.

Chinese authorities are trying to determine how exactly the new variety of bird flu infected people, but say there is no evidence yet of human-to-human transmission. The latest fatality was a 38-year-old man who worked as a chef, media website Zhejiang Online said. The province’s other case was a 67-year-old retiree who was being treated in hospital.

Two other deaths have been reported, both in China’s commercial hub of Shanghai. Other cases have occurred in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui, the government has said. Read more >>

Two men die in Shanghai in first human cases of bird flu strain

Two mainlanders have died and a third is critically ill after they became the first reported human cases of infection by a lesser-known strain of bird flu. The National Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday it wasn't clear how the three became infected, but there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

The commission said the two men - aged 87 and 27 - died in Shanghai after becoming infected with the H7N9 strain of the avian influenza virus. The 87-year-old died on March 4 and the 27-year-old on March 10, both within two weeks of falling ill, the commission said.

The woman, 35, of Chuzhou, Anhui province, was said to be in a critical condition. She fell ill on March 9 after coming into contact with poultry. The victims showed symptoms of fever and coughing and later developed severe pneumonia and breathing difficulties.

Experts say the virus does not seem to be highly contagious but appears more deadly than other strains of the H7 virus that have previously infected humans. Read more >>