CHINA is bracing for a fresh wave of bird flu to emerge on the mainland after health authorities revealed there had been nearly 50 new cases in the past fortnight, prompting fears the deadly strain might be transmitted between humans.The World Health Organisation confirmed yesterday that the number of cases
on the mainland had risen sharply since the first deaths in mainland China occurred in Shenzhen late last year.
Xinhua, China's official news agency, yesterday said a 31-year-old hospital worker and an elderly farmer died in Shanghai last weekend.
The H7N9 strain was first reported in March last year and has become increasingly prevalent in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, especially in the nation's south.
It has infected up to 200 people and killed at least 52.
The Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai, now has at least 26 confirmed
cases of bird flu, making this the most concentrated outbreak in China.
Xinhua said the health worker who died, whose surname was Zhang, is not believed to have worked with flu patients in the weeks leading up to his death.
However, it was reported there was a major poultry market near the hospital where he worked in Shanghai's Pudong region and he had stayed with his parents, who raised pigeons.
The man's death, and that of the farmer, again prompted officials to warn Chinese people to stay away from poultry markets.
Thousands of birds have been slaughtered since the bird flu strain broke out last year.
WHO's China spokesman Gregory Hartl said there were concerns that the infection rate and death toll would rise as the nation prepares to celebrate Chinese New Year at the end of the month. The festival is the busiest time of travel in the country as millions of Chinese return to their home provinces. The government estimates there will be 3.4 billion individual trips taken over the next month.
