New bird flu virus adds to China health fears

2013-04-03 117

EDITORS NOTE: CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JANE LANHEE LEE, SAYING:

"Behind me is the traditional wet market on the outskirts of Shanghai where a 27-year-old who died last month of bird flu worked as a pork butcher."

The Shanghai government confirmed on Sunday that 2 patients who died in march with symptoms of pneumonia had in fact been infected by H7N9 virus - a new strain of bird flu that hadn't before been found in humans. There are now seven confirmed cases in China, five of them in provinces near Shanghai.

The Shanghai government in a press conference late Tuesday said so far there is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted between humans, although it's still investigating the case. So far there are no wider outbreaks of bird flu reported among China's poultry farms.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JANE LANHEE LEE, SAYING:

"In the market however, people are angry. They feel the government