Monday, January 20, 2014

Bloomberg: Shanghai Says Medical Worker Dies From #H7N9 #Bird_Flu Infection

[PIN edit:  The Case List of all of the confirmed cases for 2014 can be found here.]
From Bloomberg:
January 20, 2014
A medical worker at a Shanghai hospital died from the H7N9 bird flu infection as the virus spreads further in China during the winter months.
The 31-year-old man died on Jan. 18, according to a statement on the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning website today. The city has reported 7 cases of H7N9 infections this year, the statement said.
-snip-

Ferrets

Laboratory experiments using ferrets -- the most-common animal model for human flu infections -- have shown that the virus is capable of spreading from person to person. Some small family clusters have been reported and there is no evidence of sustainable human-to-human transmission, the World Health Organization said in December.
-snip-
Malik Peiris, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, in an October interview predicted a spike in H7N9 cases over the winter season and said it could possibly peak over the Chinese New Year because the holiday is a time of maximum poultry production. China’s New Year holiday begins Jan. 31.

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