31.03.2013

Three cases of human infection with H7N9 avian influenza have been detected recently in Shanghai and Anhui Province, and two of them have died, the other being in a critical condition.
The victims include an 87-year-old male in Shanghai who got sick on Feb. 19 and died on March 4, a 27-year-old male in Shanghai who became ill on Feb. 27 and died on March 10, and a 35-year-old female in Chuzhou City of Anhui who became ill on March 9 and is now in a critical condition.
The 87-year-old's two sons have gone to hospital with similar symptoms.
According to Shanghai No. 5 People's Hospital, the three members of the Li family were admitted between February 14 and 24 for symptoms including a high fever and coughing. All three were diagnosed as having pneumonia. The 69-year-old son recovered and was discharged but the 55-year-old died from severe pneumonia and respiratory failure in late February. The father died of multi-organ failure. Neither son had the H7N9 virus, the Shanghai Health Bureau said.

Avian influenza H7N9 is considered a low pathogenic strain that cannot easily be contracted by humans.