New H7N9 bird flu case reported in South China

Chinese health authorities have reported a new case of infection with the H7N9 strain of bird flu in the country’s southern province of Guangdong. On Friday, provincial medical personnel said the 51-year-old female patient, surnamed Chen, tested positive for the virus following a diagnosis by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Huizhou City, situated 1,880 kilometers (1,168 miles) south of the capital Beijing, on August 6. The patient is in critical condition, and is now being treated at the Central People’s Hospital of the city. A team of five medical experts has been dispatched to the medical center to help with Chen’s treatment. Guangdong Provincial Heath Department said Chen had been a poultry slaughtering worker in a local market for many years. Meanwhile, thirty-six people, who had been in close contact with the female patient, have been put under medical observation. They have shown no abnormal symptoms so far. Guangdong Provincial Agricultural Department...