- Title: CHINA: Two dead from bird flu strain not previously seen in humans
- Date: 1st April 2013
- Summary: SHANGHAI, CHINA (APRIL 1, 2013) (REUTERS) PEOPLE STANDING IN POULTRY MARKET BUTCHER PICKING CHICKEN OUT OF CAGE WOMAN CUTTING CHICKEN WITH SCISSORS CUSTOMERS STANDING AT POULTRY BUTCHER STALL VARIOUS OF CHICKENS IN CAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 60-YEAR-OLD SHOPPER, ZHANG ZHILI, SAYING: "In the future, no matter what it is, the government should make it public quickly and let the people know early. That way they can prevent it themselves. The government can be proactive, but so can we. If they don't make information public then perhaps it would delay some things." BUTCHER SPEAKING TO CUSTOMER SCISSORS CUTTING CHICKEN MEAT DIFFERENT BIRDS IN CAGE PIGEONS IN CAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 67-YEAR-OLD SHOPPER SURNAMED WU, SAYING: "It's not possible to cover it up. Perhaps there were some problems, problems with investigation. There should be a regular process of investigation. If something happens today, there's no need to cover it up. There's no benefit for them in covering it up. And I believe that that only happens in a tiny minority of cases. We should believe that the vast majority (of cases) are (handled) normally." WOMAN STANDING AT STALL VARIOUS OF CHICKENS ION CAGE CHICKEN'S FACE
- Embargoed: 16th April 2013 22:18
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Health
- Reuters ID: LVA2DONHOL26YZLA0DWA1D4YW5QB
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Shanghai residents on Monday (April 1) said they hoped for more government transparency, after state media reported that two people died last month from a strain of avian influenza -- or bird flu -- that had never been passed to humans before.
The official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday (March 31) that the two men, aged 87 and 27, became sick late February and died in early March.
Another woman in nearby Anhui province also contracted the virus in early March and is in a critical condition, Xinhua said, quoting the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).
People buying poultry at a Shanghai wet market on Monday expressed concern that the incidents had been made public weeks after their deaths.
"In the future, no matter what it is, the government should make it public quickly and let the people know early. That way they can prevent it themselves. The government can be proactive, but so can we. If they don't make information public then perhaps it would delay some things," said 60-year-old Zhang Zhili.
A government cover-up of the outbreak of the SARS virus in 2003 shook the Chinese public's confidence in the authorities' reporting of such incidents.
But a 67-year-old shopper surnamed Wu said he had faith that the government would keep the public informed.
"It's not possible to cover it up. Perhaps there were some problems, problems with investigation. There should be a regular process of investigation. If something happens today, there's no need to cover it up. There's no benefit for them in covering it up. And I believe that that only happens in a tiny minority of cases. We should believe that the vast majority (of cases) are (handled) normally," he said.
The strain of the bird flu virus found in all three people was identified as H7N9, which had not been transmitted to humans before, the NHFPC said.
The three cases were confirmed to be human infection of the H7N9 strain by experts from the NHFPC, based on clinical observation, laboratory tests and epidemiological surveys, Xinhua said.
All three cases showed symptoms of fever and coughs that later developed into pneumonia.
It is unclear how the three victims were infected. The virus does not seem highly contagious because no health abnormalities were detected among 88 of the victims' close contacts, Xinhua quoted the commission as saying.
Shu Yuelong, deputy director of the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, under China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said there was not enough evidence yet to assess the true nature of the disease.
"Currently it seems that the three victims all had severe pneumonia. But now it's still difficult to assess the strength of the virus, because at the moment our cases are very limited. But from what we have seen so far, it can lead to severe pneumonia. I think we need more proof in terms of the study of infectious disease, disease sources and clinical practice in order to assess the strength of the virus," he told state-broadcaster CCTV.
Feng Zijian, director of the emergency response department of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said one of the cases seemed to have had no contact with poultry before his death.
"One of the victims in Shanghai was a poultry vendor in a market. The other victim in Shanghai had no contact with animals. He didn't leave his home during the two weeks before he showed any symptom of the disease. So with the information we have at the moment, it's still very hard to assess the exact source of infections of this disease," he said.
There are currently no known vaccines against the H7N9 virus. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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