Reports of a New Case of Bird Flu in Nanjing Spread on Weibo
2013-04-02 15:39

Summary：What appears to be an official government document detailing the fourth case of the H7N9 virus appeared on Weibo earlier this morning, officials have not confirmed whether or not the document is genuine.
Apr 2, 2013


Domestic Chinese News outlets are reporting that a fourth person is said to be hospitalized after being found to have contracted a new strain of bird flu which has already killed two Chinese men in Shanghai and has left a third in a critical condition.

Reports of the new case are being based on what appears to be a copy of an official government document that was posted to Sina Weibo by the account "What's Happening in Nanjing" (@南京正在发生) at about 9.30am this morning. The image of the document was accompanied by the text - "Was there a case of an individual contracting the H7N9 virus discovered in Jiangning District?"

The document appears to be a report sent from an office of the Jiangning District Government to an office of the Nanjing City Government.

The document reveals that a case of H7N9 avian influenza had been "initially confirmed" by the centers for disease control and health departments in both Nanjing City and Jiangsu Province... [link to www.eeo.com.cn]

Fears as more H7N9 cases in China

Ananth Krishnan

Four more people in southern China have been reported as being infected with the little-known H7N9 bird flu, as health authorities on Tuesday placed hospitals around the country on alert amid new concerns about a rare virus that has never before been reported in humans.

At least seven people have, so far, been reported as contracting H7N9. Two deaths have already been reported in Shanghai, while a third person is in a critical condition in nearby Anhui province. There is no known vaccine to the H7N9, which is a rare form of avian flu.

The four new cases were reported on Tuesday in Jiangsu province, which borders Anhui to the east and lies north of Shanghai. The Jiangsu health bureau said three women, aged 45, 48 and 32, and a man (83) had been infected. Worryingly, the four cases were in four different cities, and all patients were in “critical condition” and “under emergency treatment”, Xinhua reported.

The new cases have put health authorities here on alarm, with hospitals told to prepare for emergencies, Xinhua said, to avoid a repeat of the SARS outbreak 10 years ago. All hospitals in Beijing “have been asked to brace for emergencies” and the avian flu had been added to an existing monitoring system, Xinhua said.

The fresh concerns about the H7N9 come in the wake of another public safety scare in recent weeks in Shanghai, where the carcasses of thousands of pigs were found floating on the Huangpu river. That the deaths of the pigs were reported to have taken place upstream, in the nearby provinces of Zhejiang or Jiangsu, has led to speculation that the cases may have been linked to the spread of H7N9.

Authorities, however, said on Tuesday no bird flu virus had been found in 34 samples of the pigs tested so far. Looking to calm fears, health officials said there was no known case of H7N9 being spread through human-to-human contact. While reports said several relatives of one of the men who died in Shanghai had also suffered from pneumonia in recent days, local officials said those cases were unrelated.

An 87-year-old man and a 27-year-old died on March 4 and 10 respectively after contracting the virus in February. The cases were confirmed as H7N9 only on Saturday. The delay, officials said, was because the cases had to go through a series of laboratory tests and epidemiological surveys as this rare form of avian flu had never before been found in humans.

That two people had died and five others were said to be in a critical condition has indicated the virulence of the flu, though authorities said it was impossible to state with certainty either the strength or transmission capabilities of H7N9. There is also no vaccine for the little-known flu.

“It has shown, for the time being, no human-to-human transmission,” said Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organisation (WHO). “We need to further investigate the extent of the outbreak, the source of the infection and the mode of transmission”.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/fears-as-more-h7n9-cases-in-china/article4573676.ece

7 cases, all of which had little to no contact with poultry.  Plus H7N9 is suppose to be low path, but this one isn't.  A mutation appears to have taken place.

     I have read the pigs were killed and dumped by their own farmer owners after the authorities cracked down on sale of diseased animals.   The dumping then of the dead pigs into the water supply of Shanghai en-masse may well have led a mutated H7N9 into human exposure, when otherwise it may have passed without notice.  This H7N9 has mutations the same as were placed by researchers in H5N1 genetically engineered to be able to easily infect ferrets, which allow the virus to switch from bird esophagael cells to mammalian ones.

Hi i just dont belive the chinese goverments reason for the dumping i suspect these animals died of H7N9 and they just covering it up ,love the refferance to the Omega man ,charlton would be proud my favorite movie on this subject

yep time to get some stores in , could be in  for a rough ride, it's so widespread.

Hi Tonino..Thanks for posting.

China reports 5th death from H7N9 bird flu
SHANGHAI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Shanghai said Thursday night that another person has died from H7N9 (Snip), bringing the death toll (Snip) to five around the country. http://news.xinhuanet.com/engl...