Workers unload chickens from a container at a wholesale market on in Shanghai, China. Scientists taking a first look at the genetics of the new bird flu strain said it could be harder to track than its better-known cousin H5N1 because it might be able to spread silently among poultry. Picture: AP Source: AP
A MAN in the Chinese province of Zhejiang has died of the H7N9 strain of bird flu, state media said, bringing the total deaths attributed to the virus to three since the first human cases.
He was one of two H7N9 avian influenza infections reported in Zhejiang in eastern China, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local authorities, bringing the country's total number of cases to nine.
Chinese authorities are trying to determine how exactly the new variety of bird flu infected people, but say there is no evidence yet of human-to-human transmission.
The latest fatality was a 38-year-old man who worked as a chef, media website Zhejiang Online said. The province's other case was a 67-year-old retiree who was being treated in hospital.
Two other deaths have been reported, both in China's commercial hub of Shanghai. Other cases have occurred in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui, the government has said.
The World Health Organisation on Tuesday played down fears over the new outbreak of bird flu, but said it was crucial to find out how the virus was spreading.
One expert warned of the risk of a pandemic if the source of infection is not identified, saying H7N9 had likely crossed over from poultry.
A woman and her daughter are frightened by ducks at an amusement park in Beijing. Picture: AP
"If one can identify that, then you have possible interventions to reduce human exposure and ideally to stamp out the virus," said Malik Peiris, Chair Professor of the Virology School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong.
"If we don't do that and do it quickly, we probably will lose the opportunity to eradicate this virus," he said.
"If we don't eradicate it pretty quickly, this virus will become endemic and spread across China and beyond China," he added.
China's neighbour Vietnam has announced an immediate ban on all Chinese poultry imports and stepped up border controls in response to the outbreak.
Hanoi has imposed the ban to "actively and efficiently prevent the intrusion of the H7N9 virus into Vietnam", according to an urgent message signed by the Minister of Agriculture Cao Duc Phat.
Taiwan, which is separated from mainland China by a narrow strait, said it had raised its level of alert and set up a group tasked with preparing to prevent a possible epidemic.
A worker spays disinfectant liquid to chicken cages at a chicken wholesale market in Shanghai. One expert has warned of a pandemic if the source of infection is not quickly identified. Picture: AP
In Shanghai, where two people have died from the virus, some residents expressed worries over eating poultry.
"I'll stop buying chickens for the moment and wait until the situation eases," said a middle-aged woman at a traditional food market.
Shanghai officials have assured people that the city's chicken and pork are safe to eat, after the H7N9 cases and the recovery of more than 16,000 dead pigs from the city's main river last month, but many are unconvinced.
China is considered one of the countries at greater risk from bird flu because it is one of the world's biggest poultry producers and many chickens in rural areas are kept close to humans.
The more common strain of avian flu, H5N1, has killed more than 360 people globally from 2003 until March 12 this year, according to the World Health Organisation.
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