After China, Bird flu virus spreads to Taiwan

Beijing: The new strain of bird flu has spread to Taiwan as it reported the first case while the WHO on Friday said the deadly H7N9 virus is far “more lethal” because of its ability to spread easily from birds to humans.

China has reported 108 H7N9 cases and 22 deaths since the first infections were confirmed on March 31. The patient said he did not have any contact with birds or eat undercooked poultry or eggs during his stay in Suzhou. He also tested Hepatitis-B-positive and suffers from high blood pressure and his condition was stated to be serious, the statement said.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) statement said all the H7N9 infections identified so far are isolated cases and there is no evidence of any inter-human transmission. Although several cases of family-clustered infections with H7N9 avian influenza have occurred in China, there is no definitive evidence indicating that the virus was transmitted from the same source or among different people, according to a China-WHO joint statement.

Moreover, there has been no sustained human-to-human spread monitored so far, it said, adding that the possibility of such situation cannot be ruled out, as scientists are not sure whether the virus will develop to be inter-human communicable. Severe symptoms have been observed in most of the infection cases, but uncertainty remains over how many people may be carrying the virus without showing any symptoms, the statement said. “That is why we are carefully working on the virus and closely monitoring its spread,” it explained. Also Liang Wannian, a top official with China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission, warned that the disease may further spread. The authorities will intensify the monitoring of infections among animals and people, he said.