New species of bird flu outbreak in China is rated as a serious threat to human health. However, up to now could not be predicted how far it has spread.
So far 126 people are known to have been infected with bird flu. Of that 24 people were killed, while some hospitals are still treating the sick.
H7N9 virus has not been known to spread from human to human. It was considered to limit the threat to the world. Although, the threat must be addressed and taken seriously.
There is concern the speed and severity of the outbreak spread. Relatively high number of infections since the case was first identified in April.
The study, published in the medical journal Lancet showed H7N9 virus is a mixture of at least four viruses from ducks and chickens. In contrast to previous H5N1 outbreaks, the virus is not deadly to poultry. This may be more difficult to track the spread of the virus.
"H7N9 may be one step closer to a pandemic than H5," said an influenza researcher at Imperial College London, Barclay Wndy reported by the BBC.
The virus is considered to be mutated five times when it infects birds. "In man the H7 virus that has so far we can see that mutations occur in a matter of days," he said.
sources:
http://www.republika.co.id/berita/internasional/global/13/05/02/mm5mia-flu-burung-ancaman-serius-untuk-kesehatan-manusia
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