BEIJING: Authorities in Shanghai began the mass slaughter of poultry at a market after the H7N9 bird flu virus, which has killed five people in China, was detected there, even as Japan and Hong Kong stepped up vigilance and Vietnam banned imports of Chinese poultry.
The discovery of the virus in samples of pigeon came as health officials said they were treating a person for flu-like symptoms who had been in close contact with one of the dead, Xinhua news agency reported.
There had previously been no evidence of possible human-to-human transmission. Two more fatalities yesterday brought the death toll from the virus to five — four of them in Shanghai — with the number of confirmed infection cases climbing to 14. “(China) will strengthen its leadership in combating the virus ... and coordinate and deploy the entire nation’s health system to combat the virus,” the Health Ministry said.
In Japan, airports have put up posters at entry points warning all passengers from China to seek medical attention if they suspect they have bird flu. Also, all passengers on flights in and out of Hong Kong were being asked to notify flight attendants or airport staff if they were feeling unwell.
Flu experts across the world are studying samples isolated from the patients to assess the human pandemic potential of the strain. Other strains of bird flu, such as H5N1, can be transmitted from bird to bird, and bird to human, but not generally from human to human. Agencies
