A 32-year-old woman from Eastern China is probably the first case of human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 virus documented. The woman is believed to have contracted the virus through her ailing father in March while he was in hospital and died one month later according to reports in CNN and the Daily Telegraph.
The H7N9 strain of the avian flu infected 137 people and claimed 32 lives from the beginning of this year till May. The new study by Jiangsu Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that the new evidence was limited and the virus was non-sustainable however the threat of the virus is still present.It is believed that the woman did not wear protective gear while nursing her 60-year-old father who contracted the virus from live quails that he bought from the market.
In July, there was one reported case of an elderly woman critically ill due to coming into contact with live poultry the main mode of transmission of the disease.
Here are tips on some preventative measures from our resident health columnist Dr. Richard Saint Cyr’s blog.
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