New human H5N1 cases in different China regions
Archive Number 20090121.0263
Published Date 21-JAN-2009
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human (12): China (GZ)
AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN (12): CHINA (GUIZHOU)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
[1]
Date: Wed 21 Jan 2009
Source: Associated Press report [edited]
China's top health official on Tuesday [20 Jan 2009] ordered stronger
measures to prevent the spread of bird flu, as the country announced
its 3rd fatality from the H5N1 [avian influenza] virus in a month.
The World Health Organization, meanwhile, said the cases were a
'perfectly normal occurrence' during colder months. Chinese Health
Minister Chen Zhu said health departments across the nation need to pay 'great attention' to stepping up efforts to stop the disease before it sickens more people, especially at the peak of the Lunar New Year travel rush, when tens of millions of people were making their way home to rural areas. 'It is the high season for human cases of bird flu. There is a severe need for the prevention of more cases,' Chen said in a conference call to ministry officials. He said health officials need to be made fully aware of the risk and harm
associated with bird flu, increase monitoring, strengthen clinical
diagnoses and treatment, and report outbreaks in a timely manner.
His call to action came as state media announced the death of a
16-year-old student in Hunan province in central China. The boy had
been in critical condition and died Tuesday [20 Jan 2009] morning,
the official Xinhua News Agency said. He fell ill on 8 Jan 2009 in his hometown in the neighboring province of Guizhou and was
transferred to a hospital in Huaihua, a city in Hunan, on 16 Jan
2009, when his condition worsened. He had contact with dead poultry,
the report said without giving other details.
The 2 other bird flu deaths were a 27-year-old woman in Shandong province in the country's east who died on Saturday [17 Jan 2009] and a 19-year-old woman who died in Beijing on 5 Jan 2009.
Until this month [January 2009], no new human infections had been
reported in China since February 2007 [This should read 2008. -
Mod.CP]. Peter Cordingley, the WHO's Asia spokesman, said the latest cases were a 'perfectly predictable event. The virus always starts to get active this time of year,' he said. According to the WHO, bird
flu has killed 249 people worldwide since 2003. The tally does not
include Tuesday's [20 Jan 2009] death in China, where a total of 34
infections have been reported.
---
[Byline: Andrea Ang]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
******
[2]
Date: Wed 21 Jan 2009
Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP) report [edited]
China sought Wednesday [21 Jan 2009] to allay fears over the threat
of a bird flu pandemic after 3 people died from the disease this month [January 2009] and a 4th person remained critically ill. There was no evidence that the potential for an outbreak of the disease was
on the rise, China's health ministry said in a statement faxed to
AFP. 'The 4 cases separately came from different provinces; there is no epidemiological connection between them; they are sporadic cases,' the ministry said.
---
A 2-year-old girl, meanwhile, is still critically ill in the northern province of Shanxi, the health ministry said. The toddler's mother died this month [January 2009] of severe pneumonia, sparking concern
that she may actually have had bird flu and passed it on to her
daughter. The health ministry said it was unable to do tests to
confirm whether the mother had died of avian influenza, as no samples
were collected when she passed away.
---
The World Health Organisation says about 250 people have died from
bird flu worldwide since 2003. The total number of reported deaths in
China since the virus re-emerged in 2003 now stands at 23.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Dan Silver
[The 4 human cases of avian influenza reported during the 1st 3 weeks
of January 2009, the 1st in China since February 2008, occurred in 4
different provinces and appear to be unconnected. In all cases, there
is evidence of contact with diseased poultry. There is no evidence of
human-to-human transmission of infection from affected individuals to
their contacts or care givers. The question of whether the 2-year-old
child may have contracted infection from her mother remains
unresolved, since no clinical samples from the mother are available.
The death of the 16-year-old boy reported above is the 23rd fatality
among the 34 cases of avian A/H5N1 virus infection recorded in China.
Three of the 4 cases identified in the 1st weeks of 2009 have died,
and the 4th remains in critical condition.
A map of the provinces of China is available at http://www.sacu.org/provmap.html, and the HealthMap/ProMED-mail
interactive map of China is available at http://healthmap.org/promed/en?v=36.5,103.9,4. - Mod.CP]
Published Date 21-JAN-2009
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human (12): China (GZ)
AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN (12): CHINA (GUIZHOU)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
[1]
Date: Wed 21 Jan 2009
Source: Associated Press report [edited]
China's top health official on Tuesday [20 Jan 2009] ordered stronger
measures to prevent the spread of bird flu, as the country announced
its 3rd fatality from the H5N1 [avian influenza] virus in a month.
The World Health Organization, meanwhile, said the cases were a
'perfectly normal occurrence' during colder months. Chinese Health
Minister Chen Zhu said health departments across the nation need to pay 'great attention' to stepping up efforts to stop the disease before it sickens more people, especially at the peak of the Lunar New Year travel rush, when tens of millions of people were making their way home to rural areas. 'It is the high season for human cases of bird flu. There is a severe need for the prevention of more cases,' Chen said in a conference call to ministry officials. He said health officials need to be made fully aware of the risk and harm
associated with bird flu, increase monitoring, strengthen clinical
diagnoses and treatment, and report outbreaks in a timely manner.
His call to action came as state media announced the death of a
16-year-old student in Hunan province in central China. The boy had
been in critical condition and died Tuesday [20 Jan 2009] morning,
the official Xinhua News Agency said. He fell ill on 8 Jan 2009 in his hometown in the neighboring province of Guizhou and was
transferred to a hospital in Huaihua, a city in Hunan, on 16 Jan
2009, when his condition worsened. He had contact with dead poultry,
the report said without giving other details.
The 2 other bird flu deaths were a 27-year-old woman in Shandong province in the country's east who died on Saturday [17 Jan 2009] and a 19-year-old woman who died in Beijing on 5 Jan 2009.
Until this month [January 2009], no new human infections had been
reported in China since February 2007 [This should read 2008. -
Mod.CP]. Peter Cordingley, the WHO's Asia spokesman, said the latest cases were a 'perfectly predictable event. The virus always starts to get active this time of year,' he said. According to the WHO, bird
flu has killed 249 people worldwide since 2003. The tally does not
include Tuesday's [20 Jan 2009] death in China, where a total of 34
infections have been reported.
---
[Byline: Andrea Ang]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
******
[2]
Date: Wed 21 Jan 2009
Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP) report [edited]
China sought Wednesday [21 Jan 2009] to allay fears over the threat
of a bird flu pandemic after 3 people died from the disease this month [January 2009] and a 4th person remained critically ill. There was no evidence that the potential for an outbreak of the disease was
on the rise, China's health ministry said in a statement faxed to
AFP. 'The 4 cases separately came from different provinces; there is no epidemiological connection between them; they are sporadic cases,' the ministry said.
---
A 2-year-old girl, meanwhile, is still critically ill in the northern province of Shanxi, the health ministry said. The toddler's mother died this month [January 2009] of severe pneumonia, sparking concern
that she may actually have had bird flu and passed it on to her
daughter. The health ministry said it was unable to do tests to
confirm whether the mother had died of avian influenza, as no samples
were collected when she passed away.
---
The World Health Organisation says about 250 people have died from
bird flu worldwide since 2003. The total number of reported deaths in
China since the virus re-emerged in 2003 now stands at 23.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Dan Silver
[The 4 human cases of avian influenza reported during the 1st 3 weeks
of January 2009, the 1st in China since February 2008, occurred in 4
different provinces and appear to be unconnected. In all cases, there
is evidence of contact with diseased poultry. There is no evidence of
human-to-human transmission of infection from affected individuals to
their contacts or care givers. The question of whether the 2-year-old
child may have contracted infection from her mother remains
unresolved, since no clinical samples from the mother are available.
The death of the 16-year-old boy reported above is the 23rd fatality
among the 34 cases of avian A/H5N1 virus infection recorded in China.
Three of the 4 cases identified in the 1st weeks of 2009 have died,
and the 4th remains in critical condition.
A map of the provinces of China is available at http://www.sacu.org/provmap.html, and the HealthMap/ProMED-mail
interactive map of China is available at http://healthmap.org/promed/en?v=36.5,103.9,4. - Mod.CP]
