We have 3 cases with onset dates in March:
#621 -
Female, 36, [Jeong], hospitalized in critical condition, Chaozhou,
Guangdong province
#625 -
Male, 62, [Lumou], hospitalized in critical condition, Sanshui, Foshan,
Guangdong province
#626 -
Male, 57, [Wumou], hospitalized in serious condition, Jiangmen,
Guangdong province
----------------------------------
There are 2 cases who were announced on March 1 but the onset dates were in late February:
#619 -
Male, 36, hospitalized in stable condition, Foshan,
Guangdong province
#620 -
Male, 45, hospitalized in stable condition, Dongguan,
Guangdong province
I am not sure if the 4th March case referred to above is a new case or one of the cases announced on March 1. The announcement of 20 new H7N9 cases in March by the NHFPC indicates that the Guangdong 4th case may actually one of the February onset cases since we have all of those cases accounted for numbercially. At this time I am not adding a new line for the 4th case mentioned above.
It is concerning that Guangdong province is reporting 7 fatal cases in March. This exceeds the number of cases and indicates that only the most critically ill people are being treated or recognized by the health system. This matches a larger phenomena at the countrywide level with China reporting 18 deaths out of 20 cases for March.
Either there has been a recent genetic change to make H7N9 more deadly, and/or only the most ill patients are seeking medical help, and/or the reporting system in China for H7N9 cases is broken.
Sources:
China - NHFPC announces 20 H7N9 bird flu cases for March 2015 including 18 deaths
link
FluTrackers H7N9 Case List
link
