December 17, 2013
China's Guangdong province reports new human bird flu case
A man from Guangdong province in south China was confirmed to have been infected by the human H7N9 avian influenza as reported by the Chinese health officials.
According to a PNA/Xinhua news report, the patient is a 39-year-old man, a resident from Dongguan City, who tested positive for the bird flu virus. The report notes the man is hospitalised and in serious condition.
When reported and confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO), this will be the 141th case from the Chinese mainland. Two imported cases were recently reported in Hong Kong.
Avian influenza A H7 viruses are a group of influenza viruses that normally circulate among birds. The avian influenza A(H7N9) virus is one subgroup among the larger group of H7 viruses. Although some H7 viruses (H7N2, H7N3 and H7N7) have occasionally been found to infect humans, no human infections with H7N9 viruses have been reported until the first reports from China in early 2013.