China confirms 4 more cases of H7N9 bird flu
FOUR people in eastern Jiangsu Province have been confirmed as being infected with the lesser-known H7N9 bird flu, bringing the total number of infections in the country to seven.
The four, from four cities in Jiangsu, are in a critical condition and under emergency treatment, the provincial health bureau said in a statement yesterday.
The four were confirmed as having H7N9 avian influenza by an expert team summoned by the provincial health bureau, based on clinical observations, laboratory tests and epidemiological surveys, the statement said.
Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press
04/02/2013 8:57 pm EDT
Excerpt:
The new flu virus that has exploded onto the global radar is already showing signs that it is adapting to mammals, suggesting what was once a bird virus is now probably spreading in a mammalian host, an influenza expert said Tuesday.
And while it's not clear what that mammalian host is, the two most obvious choices are pigs or humans, said Dr. Richard Webby, head of the World Health Organization's influenza collaborating centre at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
"I think that's what's concerning about this ...This thing doesn't any longer look like a poultry virus," Webby, a swine flu expert, said in an interview.
"It really looks to me like it's adapted in a mammalian host somewhere."
Thanks for the ping.
Yikes! My husband’s brother was in China on business and saw all the pigs floating in river. What a commie hell hole.