Number of H7N9 Patients Dwindles in China

National health authorities said in their latest update on the disease that only 14 patients from China's H7N9 bird flu outbreak are still in hospital.

A total of 131 confirmed human infections of the virus have been recorded on the Chinese mainland, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said.

Cases of H7N9 Bird Flu Drug Resistance
A study published by The Lancet said that laboratory tests have confirmed resistance in three people infected with the H7N9 strain of bird flu to a common group of antiviral drugs including Tamiflu.

Of those, 39 died and 78 had been released from hospital, with 14 still being treated, it said in a statement late Sunday, adding it would no longer report figures weekly, switching instead to monthly updates.

One other case was recorded in Taiwan.

Experts fear the possibility of the virus mutating into a form easily transmissible between humans, with the potential to trigger a pandemic.

Study Says H7N9 Bird Flu can Spread in Mammals
According to a recent study H7N9 bird flu strain can spread among ferrets and could do the same among humans under certain conditions.

Laboratory tests showed that in some patients the H7N9 virus was resistant to treatment drugs, researchers in China wrote in the medical journal The Lancet last month, adding that their findings were "concerning".

But flu viruses are often seasonal and much of China has experienced warmer weather following the end of winter.

WHO: Impossible to Predict Outcome in China's Bird Flu Outbreak
The head of the WHO said that it is impossible to predict the evolution of China's human H7N9 bird flu outbreak as researchers are still trying to understand the source of human transmission.

Source-AFP

No Reports of New Bird Flu Cases in China
National health authorities have said that no new human cases of the H7N9 virus have been recorded in China for a week.