WHO Talks With China on Sending Bird Flu Team

The World Health Organization is talking with the Chinese government about sending international experts to China to help investigate a new bird flu strain that has sickened at least 24 people, killing seven of them.

A 64-year-old retired man in Shanghai became the latest victim of the H7N9 bird flu virus that had previously not been known to infect humans, the city government said Monday.The Shanghai government said the man died Sunday night, a week after first experiencing chills. He sought medical treatment last Wednesday for pneumonia-like conditions. By Sunday morning, his condition worsened, he was out of breath and was admitted to a ward for in-patient treatment. He died hours later.

Aside from the latest fatality in Shanghai, China reported two more cases of human infection of the H7N9 bird flu virus on Monday, raising the total number of cases to 24 — all in the eastern part of the country. Most of the patients have become severely ill, and seven of them have died, however milder infections may be going undetected.

It is hi-time a permanent solution is arrived at. This infection has to be nipped in the bud

China reports nine bird flu cases

Nine reported cases of avian flu in eastern China have galvanised the country's health officials and sparked a frenzy of concern on social media networks.

Since Chinese media reported late last month that avian flu virus H7N9 had killed two men in Shanghai, additional reports of the disease have emerged in eastern Anhui and Jiangsu provinces and the metropolis Hangzhou, triggering fears of an incipient pandemic. Three people have been killed by the virus. The remaining six are in critical condition.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which is monitoring the cases in cooperation with Chinese authorities, said the strain was not transmittable from human to human. China's state newswire Xinhua reported that almost 200 people who came into contact with infected patients had tested negative for the virus.

Among four people to contract the disease in Jiangsu province, only one of them – a 45 year-old poultry butcher – has had long-term exposure to fowl, it has been reported.

So how do people contact it?