From the Media
H7N9 influenza in China
In the beginning of April, a novel strain of influenza, H7N9, was identified in people with severe respiratory illness and some deaths in China. Chinese officials are in the process of completing retrospective sampling to determine if others with similar symptoms were infected prior to these first cases. On April 5, 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert that included guidance for clinicians; however, to date, no cases have been identified in countries other than China. Here is what you should know:
- No human-to-human transmission has been identified.
- The strain is of avian origin and has been similar to the H5N1 in that the severity of disease can vary from minor illness to fulminant pneumonia and death.
- Because of the potential for the virus to change to an easily transmissible virus in humans, the CDC is not only continuing to monitor the situation in China, but also modifying test kits to detect the virus, reviewing genetic sequences of emerging strains and beginning development of a candidate vaccine.
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