Beijing reports first H7N9 bird flu case

Beijing, February 12

China’s national capital has reported first case of H7N9 avian flu case this year after a 68-year-old man has been infected by the human infection.

A patient, surnamed Zhang, from Langfang City of neighbuoring Hebei Province is in a critical condition and is receiving treatment, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Zhang developed syndromes on January 29 and received treatment in a local hospital in Langfang.

He was transferred to Beijing on February 6 as his condition deteriorated. Zhang was confirmed to have been infected by the H7N9 strain of avian flu yesterday.

He is suspected to have had contact with live poultry.

H7N9 was first reported to have infected humans in China in March 2013. It is most likely to strike in winter and spring.

30 people have died in Jiangsu province due to H7N9 avian flu in the last three months. Twenty-one of the 49 people infected with flu died in January.

Fourteen of the 54 people admitted for treatment in December last year died due to the disease. — PTI