China reports 8 new human H7N9 bird flu cases

Eight new human H7N9 cases were reported on Tuesday in three provinces in China, including Zhejiang and Guangdong, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The H7N9 bird flu has already killed 19 in China this year, and the total number of human infections since January 1 had reached 96 as of Monday, Xinhua said, citing the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Shu Yuelong, director of the Chinese National Influenza Center, said on Monday that a large-scale H7N9 epidemic is unlikely during the Spring Festival holiday, as no H7N9 virus mutation that could affect public health has been identified so far. With bird flu cases increasing on a daily basis, China has stepped up its vaccine research for H7N9. Chicken has been a requisite dish on Chinese dining tables for centuries during Spring Festival, which begins this Friday. Chinese farmers have traditionally raised chickens using free range methods, especially in the countryside, which has been deemed by experts as a potential risk for spreading bird flu. In Hong Kong, about 20,000 birds were culled at the city's largest poultry wholesale market on Tuesday, after the deadly virus was detected in a live chicken imported from Guangdong Province on the previous day. Trade in the market will be suspended for 21 days and there will be no supply of live poultry to the city during the period, the Hong Kong government said in a press release.