Bird flu: China’s Hunan province reports first case of H7N9
A masked staff member of a poultry market sorts out ducks in Taipei on April 26, 2013. Asian countries on April 25 urged renewed vigilance against a spread of H7N9 bird flu after Taiwan reported a case of the deadly strain, the world’s first outside mainland China.
Bird flu has continued its spread throughout China, as Hunan province officials reported the first case of the H7N9 virus in the region Saturday.
The victim is a 64-year-old woman named Guan, a Shaoyang City resident who reportedly began suffering from a fever on April 14. She has since been confirmed to have bird flu, according to a statement by the Hunan Provincial Health Department.
A 54-year-old man from the eastern province of Fujian is also being treated for bird flu in Hunan province.
The reports of new cases come just a day after a Taiwanese man was found to have the H7N9 virus, which he caught in China. It is the first report of the flu outside of the mainland, according to Reuters.
Since March 31, when the government announced that the virus had been found in humans, over 110 people have contracted the disease, and 23 have died, Agence France-Presse reported.
"Until the source of H7N9 avian influenza is… brought under effective control, sporadic cases might continue to appear," said Liang Wannian of China's National Health and Family Planning Commission.
More from GlobalPost: China: bird flu cases now at 104
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