The number of confirmed H7N9 bird flu cases in China increased by two to 104 during the 24-hour period through 4 p.m. April 22, according to the official Xinhua news agency.Twenty-one have died. But is it spreading from human to human?
More than 40% of the H7N9 cases involve victims that have not handled poultry, state media said. All the same, Chinese authorities have said there has been no confirmed person-to-person transmission of the flu. "Our knowledge of H7N9 bird flu is very limited," the Shanghai Daily newspaper quoted Yang Weizhong, deputy director the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Beijing and major eastern Chinese cities have closed live poultry markets and are taking other precautions to limit the spread of the new virus. Fujian Sunner, a large chicken processor that supplies Yum!'s KFC chain and McDonald's, said it had lost 78 million yuan, or about $13 million, in the first quarter, in part due to fallout from the spread of H7N9.
Consumers have been wary of chicken, though the government says cooked meat is safe. Chinese-language media had estimated the previous week that the country’s poultry industry overall had lost 17 billion yuan, or $2.7 billion.
