Avian Flu Investigation To Be Conducted By International Experts

Avian Flu Investigation To Be Conducted By International Experts

The World Health Organization or the WHO indicated that China will be receiving help from an international team of experts in the investigation of the latest avian flu strain.

So far fourteen of the sixty-three people who were affected by the H7N9 virus have died. However, there is no evidence that pointing to a human-to-human transfer of the virus. Last Saturday, China confirmed the death of a 7-year-old child in Beijing due to the virus. This is the first case that was reported outside of China’s Yangtze region where the new strain initially emerged.

Four of the team of eight flu experts will come from the WHO. The team was sent to respond to the request of health authorities in China, according to a WHO spokesman. Gregory Hartl said that the team will evaluate the situation and try to understand the behavior of the virus. It will also determine the type of investigations that should be done in connection to the latest avian flu outbreak.

He added that the schedule of the visit of the team in Beijing and the affected provinces was not yet finalized.

Glenn Thomas, another spokesman for the UN agency, revealed that the team will be composed of experts from Australia, Europe, and the United States, who will join the experts in China. He added that the week-long study is expected to be started in one week’s time.

The WHO revealed that over a thousand people who had close contact with the latest strain of avian flu were keep under close observation for any possible symptoms of the virus. For the moment, no evidence was found to indicate a possible human-to-human transmission of the virus.

The increased monitoring by Chinese authorities of the disease was praised by the WHO. Beijing also conducted retrospective evaluation of people who contracted respiratory illness whose origin was unknown.

The Food and Agriculture Organization, another agency of the UN, is also collaborating with Chinese authorities in investigating possible sources of the virus. Thomas revealed that the main focus of the investigation were poultry markets. The goal of the second UN agency is to check the poultry markets since these are critical research areas for the latest avian flu virus.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday April 17 2013, 2:30 AM EST. Ref: Reuters. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0