Bird Flu Death Toll Reaches 20 in China, Source of Infection Unknown

Posted on April 21, 2013

The death toll from the avian influenza A(H7N9) outbreak in China has reached 20. The total number of cases has grown to 102. 70 of these patients remain at the hospital, while 12 have been discharged. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been providing updates based on data supplied by health authorities in China.

An NPR report says the source of the virus is still a mystery. The NPR story says one source for transmission could be dust at the market. It is possible there is human-to-human transmission going on, but this has not been confirmed and the WHO says there is no evidence for it.

The WHO says more cases are expected as the source of infection remains unknown:

Investigations into the possible sources of infection and reservoirs of the virus are ongoing. Until the source of infection has been identified, it is expected that there will be further cases of human infection with the virus in China. So far, there is no evidence of ongoing human-to-human transmission.