China confirms 9 recent H7N9 cases, 1 death
Chinese health officials yesterday and today reported nine new H7N9 avian flu cases, including one fatality, according to translations of reports posted by FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.
The newest case is in Shanghai, according to a FluTrackers post yesterday. The Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission, at a briefing yesterday, said that a 61-year-old male resident of the city has contracted the disease. He tested positive yesterday for H7N9 and is undergoing treatment.
The other eight cases were included in a national health ministry update on notifiable diseases. The report, a translation of which was posted today by FluTrackers, notes 15 H7N9 cases in May. Seven of them, however, were already reported in provincial monthly updates. No details were provided about the eight new cases, but one of them proved fatal.
The report also notes a death in May from "bird flu" separate from the H7N9 cases. It might refer to an H5N1 avian flu death that has not been reported, FluTrackers said.
The reports raise the H7N9 global total to 681 cases, according to a list maintained by FluTrackers.
Jun 10 FluTrackers thread on Shanghai case
Jun 11 FluTrackers thread on 8 new cases in May
FluTrackers H7N9 case list
H5N1 strikes 1,400 chickens in another outbreak in Ghana
Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu has hit a farm with 1,397 egg-laying chickens in Ghana, the fourth to be reported in about a week, according to a report posted yesterday by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
A total of 246 birds died from infection, and the rest were destroyed to prevent disease spread. The farm is located in Greater Accra region, in southeastern Ghana along the coast. The outbreak began Apr 13 and was confirmed May 12, but not reported to the OIE till yesterday.
Officials in Ghana reported three separate H5N1 outbreaks on Jun 2 that began in April and May, also in Greater Accra. Before that, the country had not reported the disease in birds since 2007.
Jun 10 OIE report