avian flu – Beijing Kids

China’s New Bird Flu Strain Strikes Again

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 06:57:41 +0000

A second case of a new strain of avian flu has been reported in China, sparking fears of a repeat of last year’s H7N9 scare.

Details of the latest instance of the H10N8 infection remain scarce, though state news agency Xinhua reports that a 55-year-old woman was in a critical condition in a Nanchang hospital after arriving with symptoms of dizziness and a sore throat. The woman recently had “exposure to an agricultural market,” according to the Health and Family Planning Department in south east China’s Jiangxi Province.

Reports follow the death of a 73-year-old woman, also in Jiangxi, who died in December last year after visiting a live bird market days before hospitalization. The case marked the first report of human H10N8 infection, although scientists had already detected the virus in wild and domestic birds.

Meanwhile cases of the H7N9 strain, which struck China in spring 2013 and is already responsible for over 50 deaths, continue to emerge across the east and south of the country. According to a report in yesterday’s Shanghai Daily, Zhejiang Province has seen new instances of the virus for 17 consecutive days since January 9.

Although official guidance on the new H10N8 strain is yet to emerge, it is likely to point towards avoiding contact with uncooked poultry and agricultural markets where possible. There remains no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission with either strain at this stage.

UPDATE: The year’s first case of H7N9 in Beijing has been reported. Click here for full details over at our sister publication theBeijinger.

Photo courtesy of Padmanaba01 (Flickr)

H7N9: New Evidence Shows Human-to-Human Transmission

Nimo_Wanjau — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 04:00:00 +0000

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.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia commons

H7N9: Elderly Woman in Critical Condition

Nimo_Wanjau — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 07:00:00 +0000

It has been about a month since we have heard of any new cases of H7N9, now a 61-year-old woman from Hebei province is the latest one. The woman is at the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital in critical condition.

China Daily story on the new case:

A 61-year-old woman from Langfang, Hebei province, is in critical condition after being infected with the H7N9 virus, the latest known case of bird flu on the mainland.

The patient apparently visited a food market where live poultry was sold every day between June 30 and July 9, the Beijing Health Bureau said.

A study published earlier this month showed that the elderly are most likely to get infected.

Most of those infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus have been older people with pre-existing medical problems, putting them at greater risk of getting critically ill or dying, according to China’s first comprehensive study of the new virus.

The analysis was led by scientists from Fudan University and was published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Click here for the full story.

With this new case, it’s best to be cautious. Check Dr. Richard’s My Health Beijing blog for tips on how to avoid infection.

Photo courtesy of wikimedia commons