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FiveNewBirdFluSitesFoundinChinaChinafoundnewcasesofbirdfluinfivelivebirdmarketsintheeasternpartofthecountry,areportpostedonthewebsiteoftheWorldAnimalHealthOrganization(OIE)showedonWednesday.ChinasaidtheH7N9avianinfluenzaviruswasfoundonWednesdayinthreelivebirdmarketsinJiangsuprovince,oneinAnhuiprovinceandoneinZhejiangprovince,thereportsaid.Itdidnotspecifyinwhatkindofbirdstheviruswasfound.ThethreepreviousoutbreaksreportedlastweekwereallinChina'sfinancialhubShanghai.Ninepeoplehavediedoutof33confirmedhumancasesofthevirus,accordingtodatafromtheNationalHealthandFamilyPlanningCommissiononWednesday.ThelatestH7N9victimwasfromAnhuiprovince,theofficialXinhuanewsagencysaid.AmongthenewcasesareseveralfromShanghai,JiangsuandZhejiangprovinces,atleastoneofwhomisdangerouslyill,itsaid.ReportssubmittedbyChina'sfarmministrytotheOIElastweekshowedthatthefirstcaseofH7N9inbirdswasfoundonApril4onapigeondestinedforhumanconsumptioninawholesalemarketinShanghai.Authoritiesalsodiscoveredseveninfectedchickensinthesamemarket,whichleadtothecullingof20,536poultryintotal.Thenextday,oneinfectedchickenwasfoundattheJingchuanmarketinShanghai,andtwochickensandtwopigeonswerediscoveredattheFengzhuangmarket,alsoinShanghai,reportsshowed.MembercountriesoftheOIEhavetheobligationtodeclarebirdflucaseswhenfoundindomesticanimals,orwhentheyarehighlypathogenic,whichisnotthecaseinthisinstance.FordetailsofthenewoutbreaksvisitOIEonline.Beijinghasreporteditsfirstconfirmedcaseofthelateststrainofbirdflu,whichuntilnowhasonlybeenreportedineasternChina.Healthauthoritiessaya7-year-oldgirlhasbeenconfirmedtohavetheH7N9virusandisbeingtreatedinaBeijinghospital.ElevenpeoplehavediedineasternChinasincetheviruswasreportedinhumansforthefirsttimelastmonth.Thevirusisbelievedtohavebeentransmittedfrombirdstohumans,triggeringmassivecullsatpoultryfarmsandrestrictionsonpoultrytrade.Expertsworrythatthisnewstrainofbirdflucouldbecomeeasilytransmissibleandtriggerapandemic,althoughtheWorldHealthOrganizationsayssofarthereisnoevidenceofthevirusspreadingfromhumantohuman.HONGKONG—SincethefirstH7N9fatalitywasidentifiedinShanghaiinearlyMarch,thelatestvariantoftheavianfluvirushasspreadacrossthreeChineseprovinces-700kilometersapart.Some24peoplearenowinfectedandsevenhavedied.ChinaissteppingupsurveillancemeasuresafterauthoritiesclosedShanghaipoultrymarketslastweekandculledstocksaftertheviruswasdetectedinlocalpigeons.InTaiwan,suppliesofanti-viralmedicinesarebeingmadeavailableforsubsidizedpublicsale.TherearestillquestionsabouthowsusceptibleH7N9istoantiviraldrugslikeTamiflu.ShanghaiMunicipalCenterforDiseaseControlreportedMondaythata4-year-oldboyhasmadeafullrecovery,offeringhopeH7N9canbetreatedsuccessfully.ProfessorMalikPeirisisscientificdirectorofthePasteurResearchCenteratHongKongUniversity.HeisalsothefirstscientisttoisolatetheSARSvirusthatkilledmorethan700peoplein2002and2003.Hecautionsagainstreadingtoomuchintothemortalityrateofthefluvirus.“Ithinkyouhavetobecautiousaboutinterpretingmortalityratesbecause,usually,onlythemostseverecasesareinvestigated.Therecouldbemildercasesthatgounrecognized.So,ontheonehand,thiswouldmakethemortalityandtheseverityless.Butofcourse,ontheotherhand,itwouldmeanthereismoretransmissionoccurringinhumanstoo,”Peirissaid.InspectingapoultrywholesalemarketMonday,HongKonghealthsecretaryKoWing-mansaidthatbytheendofthisweeklivepoultryimportswillonlybesoldafter30inevery1,000birdsaretestedforH7N9.Testswillbeexpeditedandresultsreturnedwithinfourhours.ButwhilegovernmentsareimplementingresponseplansacrossAsia,Peiriswarnsthattodevelopvaccinesandbreaktheinfectioncycle,itisimperativethesourceoftheoutbreakbeidentified.“LearningfromH5N1,itisquiteanunpredictablevirusinthattherearehundredsofpeopleworkingcloselywithpoultrywhodonotseemtogetinfected,hesaid.Butthereistheonepersonwhomayhavequiteatenuouscontactwho[does]…So,Ithinkwhatiscrucialistogoupstream,alongthepoultrymarketingchain,ideallytothefarms,andidentifywhichspeciesisthemainsource.”HongKongisstillcommemoratingthe10thanniversaryofSARS,whichinfectedthousandsasitspreadfromChinaacrossthreecontinents.ManyherearefearfultheChinesegovernmentcoverupthatcontributedtothespreadofSARScouldberepeatedwithH7N9.ThomasAbraham,directorofthepublichealthmediaprogramatHongKongUniversityandauthorof21stCenturyPlague;theStoryofSARS,believesthisisunlikely.BeijinghaslearnedvaluablelessonssinceSARS,andsocialmediachallengegovernments’abilitytocontrolinformation.“Oneoftheearly[H7N9]casesinShanghai,eventhoughthehospitalsaidnothing,thepatient’sadmissionslipwasphotographedandputuponWeibo(China’sTwitter),hesaid.Thiskindofinformationflowisadamthatisunstoppable.ItisanentirelynewenvironmenttheChineseauthoritiesareworkingin.”AlthoughWorldHealthOrganizationofficialshavesaidthereisnoneedforpanic,LaurieGarrett,seniorfellowforglobalhealthattheCouncilonForeignRelations,warnstherecouldbetryingtimesaheadiftheH7N9deathtollcontinuestorise.“What2009taughtuswiththeswineflu[pandemic]isthatglobalsolidaritycanbreakdownveryfast.Countriesstartclosingairportsandquarantiningtravelers;theystarthoardi