China reports four more bird flu deaths, says spread of virus is slowing stat : Channel NewsAsia

BEIJING: China reported four more deaths from H7N9 bird flu in the week to Thursday, raising the winter death toll to at least 112, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. There were 22 total new cases of bird flu during the week, Xinhua said, citing data from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Southern Guizhou province has had six cases of H7N9 this winter, with four deaths, Xinhua said. The World Health Organization said on Wednesday the risk of sustained human-to-human transmission of H7N9 bird flu in China was low, but that a surge in human cases was worrying and required constant monitoring. But the agency cited an expert saying the spread of the virus should continue to slow as China takes measures such as the closing of live poultry markets.




WHO says human risks from bird flu remain lowThe risk of sustained human-to-human transmission of H7N9 bird flu in China is low, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, but a surge in human cases there is worrying and requires constant monitoring. China is seeing a fifth wave of H7N9 bird flu in humans — a virus that was first detected in people in 2013. With H5 bird flu strains, multiple outbreaks have been reported in poultry farms and wild flocks across Europe, Africa and Asia in the past three months. Outbreaks of H5 bird flu strains in poultry and wild birds across Europe, Africa and Asia are also raising concern, the WHO said, and while the human risk of these outbreaks is also low for now, vigilance is vital, Reuters reports. Since October 2016, a total of 460 laboratory-confirmed human H7N9 infections have been reported in China, a figure that exceeds previous seasons and accounts for more than a third of total cases since 2013.


UN sees bird flu changes but says the risk of spread to people is lowLONDON — The World Health Organization says it has noticed changes in the bird flu virus now spreading in China, but says the risk of the disease spreading easily between people remains low. The drug is being stockpiled worldwide in case there is a flu pandemic, possibly triggered by a mutated bird flu virus. "We always need more and better information faster," said Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, adding that the continuing bird flu worries underline the world's vulnerability to the next flu pandemic. The genetic mutations have been seen from birds and infected people, but because flu viruses change constantly, experts aren't exactly sure how significant the differences may be. The H7N9 strain of bird flu showed up in China in 2013 and has mainly sickened people in close touch with chickens or other infected people.



collected by :Lucy William
To follow all the new news about

VIRUSES and INFECTIONS