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More Human Bird Flu Cases in China
Tuesday, 20 January, 2009
After the lapse of almost one year without a case, there have been 4 human cases of avian A/H5N1 influenza reported from China since beginning of 2009: A 19-year-old woman living in Beijing; a 2-year-old girl contracting infection in Hunan province and treated in Shanxi province, now critically ill; a 27-year-old woman in Shandong province who died; and now a 16-year-old student in Guizhou province, who remains in a critical condition. None of these cases are connected, and there has been no spread so far to contacts. In 3 of the cases, exposure to diseased poultry has been confirmed. The Chinese authorities have stepped up their monitoring of the sale of live poultry in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Mon 26 Jan 2009. The government has warned that the approach of the holiday -- and an increase in the sale and movement of poultry -- brings a higher risk of the emergence of an epidemic. The total number of confirmed bird flu cases recorded in China is now 35.
