LOC21:59
18:59 GMT
TOKYO, Jan 28 (KUNA) -- Eight new human H7N9 cases were reported on Tuesday
in three provinces in China, including Zhejiang and Guangdong, state-run
Xinhua News Agency reported.
The H7N9 bird flu has already killed 19 in China this year, and the total
number of human infections since January 1 had reached 96 as of Monday, Xinhua
said, citing the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Shu Yuelong, director of the Chinese National Influenza Center, said on
Monday that a large-scale H7N9 epidemic is unlikely during the Spring Festival
holiday, as no H7N9 virus mutation that could affect public health has been
identified so far. With bird flu cases increasing on a daily basis, China has
stepped up its vaccine research for H7N9.
Chicken has been a requisite dish on Chinese dining tables for centuries
during Spring Festival, which begins this Friday. Chinese farmers have
traditionally raised chickens using free range methods, especially in the
countryside, which has been deemed by experts as a potential risk for
spreading bird flu.
In Hong Kong, about 20,000 birds were culled at the city's largest poultry
wholesale market on Tuesday, after the deadly virus was detected in a live
chicken imported from Guangdong Province on the previous day. Trade in the
market will be suspended for 21 days and there will be no supply of live
poultry to the city during the period, the Hong Kong government said in a
press release. (end)
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KUNA 282159 Jan 14NNNN