Fourth death in China due to deadly bird flu, cases rise to 11

    Beijing: One more person on
Thursday died in China due to the
deadly H7N9 bird flu, taking the
death toll to four, even as the total
number of cases of the new strain of
avian influenza in the country rose
to eleven. A 48-year-old man died of
H7N9 bird flu in east China's
Shanghai Municipality on Thursday,
the third in the municipality and the
fourth in the country, state-run
Xinhua news agency reported.
The man, surnamed Chu and a
native of Rugao in Jiangsu Province,
was a poultry transporter and
developed symptoms of coughing
on March 28. He went to a private
clinic following a fever on Monday
and then sought help in the Tongji
Hospital in Shanghai in the early
hours on Wednesday after his
condition worsened but died three
hours after being admitted. He was
confirmed to have been infected
with the H7N9 virus on Thursday.
Eight persons who had close contact
with him have shown no abnormal
symptoms, the report said.
The number of persons infected
with the virulent disease in China
totalled 11, according to Xinhua,
amid rising public concerns as the
new strain, discovered in the country
in the past few weeks, has no
medicine or vaccine to cure it. A 64-
year-old man from Huzhou City in
east China's Zhejiang Province was
diagnosed to have contracted the
H7N9 bird flu strain after he tested
positive following a March 29 illness,
the provincial centre for disease
control and prevention said on
Thursday.
Meanwhile, a man in central China's
Hunan Province died from an H1N1
flu strain. The 50-year old, surnamed
Zhang, died on Monday after
emergency treatment for more than
a week failed in Yueyang, state-run
Xinhua news agency reported.
Zhang was admitted to the No. 2
People's Hospital in Yueyang on
March 26 with symptoms of fever
and cough. He was later transferred
to an intensive care unit after
suffering from breathing difficulties.
A test by the city's centre for disease
control and prevention found Zhang
was positive on March 27 for a new
strain of the H1N1 flu that has
similar symptoms as the H1N1 flu
and can spread among humans. He
died on April 1.
Medical staff involved in the
emergency treatment did not
contract the H1N1 virus and family
members of the deceased are still
under medical observation in
quarantine. With spread of the
deadly H7N9 flu, China's health
authorities have promised
transparency and cooperation to the
World Health Organization, Xinhua
reported. The National Health and
Family Planning Commission briefed
officials from the WHO China office
on the latest developments in H7N9
avian influenza infections and the
country's countermeasures, an
official statement said on Thursday.
"China will maintain open and
transparent exchanges with the
WHO and other countries and
regions, step up monitoring and
adopt proper measures," the
statement said.

Source: IBN Live