Six more H7N9 cases were reported in China today, keeping the pace of infections close to last spring's peak.
Seven new H7N9 infections bring the latest 7-day total to 31 cases, near last year's peak level.
Early findings from sequencing of the H5N1 virus that recently caused the death of a Canadian woman suggest that it is similar to strains previously seen in China, according to a CBC News story yesterday.
Fatal Alberta case reported last week involved unusual complications, including brain inflammation.
The new cases are all from eastern provinces that have reported other recent cases.
An outbreak of H5N1 avian flu has destroyed 50,000 chickens at a farm in China, and four H5N1 outbreaks in Vietnam have led to the deaths of almost 10,000 poultry, according to separate reports filed with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
New H7N9 cases continue to arise, and four provinces are now affected this year.
The victim of the first human H5N1 infection reported in the Americas was a woman in her 20s from Red Deer, Alta., who was a nurse at a hospital there, according to reports in the local newspaper, the Red Deer Advocate.
The visit to China in December did not involve areas of high risk or contact with ill people.
A 51-year-old woman from Zhejiang province has H7N9, and the WHO confirms 7 recent cases.
