China culls poultry to limit spread of new bird flu strain

China has culled all poultry at Huhuai produce market in the Songjiang district of Shanghai in order to limit a bird flu outbreak caused by a new strain of bird flu virus.

The mass culling was carried out after authorities from China’s Ministry of Agriculture detected the strain of H7N9 virus in the samples of pigeons collected from the market, reports Xinhua.

It has been reported that 14 people have been infected by the new virus in eastern China – six in Shanghai, four in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and one in Anhui – resulting in five deaths.

Although the source of the outbreak has not yet been determined, health officials noted that no human-to-human transmission of H7N9 has been discovered and no epidemiological link between the cases has been identified.

Scientists who have studied the genetic sequence of H7N9 noted that the virus may have recently mutated into a form that spreads easily to other animals, potentially posing a bigger threat to humans.

China’s health ministry said that China will strengthen its leadership in defending against the virus and coordinate and deploy the entire nation’s health system to combat the virus.

The ministry has increased the monitoring of H7N9 bird flu virus in several areas.

In addition, China’s health authorities have assured transparency and cooperation with the World Health Organization over the human infections of the new strain of bird flu.

On 31 March, the China Health and Family Planning Commission notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of three cases of human infection with influenza A(H7N9).

The avian influenza virus can lead to fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, conjunctivitis, and, in severe cases, breathing problems and pneumonia that may be fatal.