H7N9 Bird Flu Outbreak in China Getting Closer to Vietnam

An outbreak of the H7N9 avian influenza virus spreading in China has posed great risk to Vietnam, especially bordering cities and provinces in the southern region, said Tran Dac Phu, director of the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health. “The influenza A (H7N9) infection in China has not been controlled and may spread [further],” Dr. Phu said at a meeting on Jan 28. He cited data from WHO as saying that the flu infected 16 people in China, including three fatalities, in the first week of January, but a report of the Chinese authorities showed that up to 502 H7N9 human cases were recorded since early 2015. “Notably, later infected cases have been found further in southern China near the border with Vietnam,” he said. Vietnam has recorded no case of the H7N9 strain, which has infected 486 people, including 185 fatal, since the first outbreak in 2013. Infected cases have been recorded in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. (Sai Gon Giai Phong – Saigon Liberation Jan 29)