World China reports new H7N9 case, cities ban poultry trading

[KaerfNomekop]

Chinese cities have stepped up control of the live poultry trade as the number of human H7N9 bird flu infections continues to rise.

Health authorities in east China's Anhui Province on Saturday reported a new human H7N9 infection. A teenage girl was diagnosed in a hospital in Huaining County, Anqing City on Friday. She is in stable condition.

Anhui, along with Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, are the worst-hit regions for the deadly bird flu. Anhui reported one death from the virus on Monday, triggering concerns about more human H7N9 cases in the country in the near future.

There have been more than 120 human H7N9 cases reported in China so far this year, and at least 32 deaths, according to the health ministry's official tally earlier this week.

Poultry trade has been considered a primary source of human infection for the virus, as most of the diagnosed patients had close contact with poultry.

On Saturday, Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, banned all live poultry markets for two weeks. The ban will be in effect until Feb. 28 as part of the government's new effort to curb the spread of the H7N9 virus.

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And it's spreading to other places too.

 

[The Helper]

My aunt got the bird flu and almost died. She was in a medically induced coma for over a week.

 

[FireCat]

Damn! Sorry to hear about your aunt, but glad she's okay.!

 

[The Helper]

I was on a cruise for a week during the whole flu thing and the way the media made it sound it was an epidemic. Flu and other sicknesses on cruise ships tend to spread quickly.

 

[FireCat]

Well, there's not a lot of space in a ship.