MOSCOW, January 6 (Sputnik) — The second person in two days has been infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus in South China’s Guangdong province, Xinhua reported citing the provincial Health and Family Planning Commission.
The local health authorities confirmed Tuesday that a 36-year-old man in the city of Dongguan was infected with the H7N9 virus. The man was hospitalized in critical condition.
Guangdong province borders Hong Kong where on December 25 a 68-year-old woman was hospitalized with bird flu – the first time in the region since early 2014. The woman had recently came to Hong Kong from Shenzhen.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the H7N9 avian influenza virus was first reported to have infected humans in March, 2013 in China. As of early October, 2014 a total of 453 cases of infection have been reported to the WHO. The virus has so far claimed 175 lives.
