April 10, 2013

Death toll from H7N9 bird flu rises to seven in China

A seventh person died from the H7N9 bird flu virus, and three new cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 24, according to China's Xinhua news agency.

Authorities have advised the public to avoid live birds but offered reassurances that poultry and eggs that are still on sale are safe to eat if cooked properly. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is no evidence H7N9 is passing from person to person.

State media said that poultry sales had plunged in some areas of China, even regions that have so far recorded no human infections. "It's really a devastating blow to the market for broilers," says Qiu Baoqin, vice secretary general of China's National Poultry Industry Association. "The impact is extremely big."

Cities in eastern China have culled more than 98,000 birds and closed live poultry markets, among other precautionary measures, according to news reports. Local media are reporting that some schools and airlines have declined to serve poultry, although public health officials have said consuming cooked poultry products is safe. The H7N9 virus is considered a low pathogenic strain that isn't easily contracted by humans, and no human-to-human transmission has been confirmed.

In the northern city of Shijiazhuang, daily chicken sales tumbled more than 50% from a week earlier at the city's largest agricultural market, the state-backed China News Service reported. Shanghai, where there have been 13 confirmed cases including five deaths, culled more than 111,000 birds, banned trading in live poultry and shut markets in a bid to curb the outbreak. Nanjing and Suzhou cities followed suit by banning live poultry sales.

Hangzhou culled poultry after discovering infected quail and will vaccinate more than 60,000 carrier pigeons kept by hobbyists, state media said.

Analysts said the bird flu outbreak could hurt China's overall economy-the world's second-largest-though the effect was expected to be temporary.