China bird flu outbreak: First case of H7N9 detected in Beijing

Chinese authorities have reported the first case of H7N9 “bird flu” in Beijing after a 7-year-old girl has been hospitalized in the capital.

The girl, whose parents are poultry traders, developed a fever, sore throat and headache on Thursday. Her condition is said to be stable.

Two people in close contact with the child were quarantined for observation but have shown no symptoms so far.

The UN had recorded 28 cases and nine deaths in China as of Wednesday.

There are no reported cases outside the country, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

China’s national disease control centre confirmed on Saturday that the girl take ill in Beijing had the H7N9 virus.

The first cases of the virus were reported in February, in eastern China.

According to the WHO, there is no evidence that the H7N9 virus is being transmitted between people, and most cases come from poultry.

International health experts have commended China on its transparency in reporting the spread of the virus, in sharp contrast to its handling of a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, when 8,096 people were infected worldwide and 744 died.

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