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H7N9 virus more virulent than H5N1, ministry says
TUOITRENEWS
UPDATED : 04/10/2013 11:25 GMT + 7
Amidst preparations being made to cope with the new bird flu virus strain H7N9 that has killed seven people in China, the Vietnamese Health Ministry has warned that the new strain is more dangerous than the H5N1 strain.
The warning was released by the ministry?s council of experts at a meeting yesterday to adopt instructions on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the H7N9 virus, for which there is no vaccine, said Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital.
Such instructions were issued amidst worry that the new deadly virus may penetrate Vietnam from China, Kinh said, adding that the information collected from Chinese hospitals shows that the new strain is more dangerous than the previous one, H5N1.
The recent outbreaks of the H7N9 strain in China have proved that avian flu strains are constantly mutating and becoming more deadly. Compared to H5N1, the H7N9 causes pneumonia to develop more rapidly and induces a higher fatality among patients, up to 70-80 percent, Kinh warned.
Similar to H5N1, H7N9 first attacks one lung and then the other, thereby causing breathing problems. It seems that the heart and kidneys are less vulnerable to the new strain, but patients have signs of more muscle loss, Kinh said.
More...
http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/8642/h7n9-virus-more-virulent-than-h5n1-ministry-says
TUOITRENEWS
UPDATED : 04/10/2013 11:25 GMT + 7
Amidst preparations being made to cope with the new bird flu virus strain H7N9 that has killed seven people in China, the Vietnamese Health Ministry has warned that the new strain is more dangerous than the H5N1 strain.
The warning was released by the ministry?s council of experts at a meeting yesterday to adopt instructions on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the H7N9 virus, for which there is no vaccine, said Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital.
Such instructions were issued amidst worry that the new deadly virus may penetrate Vietnam from China, Kinh said, adding that the information collected from Chinese hospitals shows that the new strain is more dangerous than the previous one, H5N1.
The recent outbreaks of the H7N9 strain in China have proved that avian flu strains are constantly mutating and becoming more deadly. Compared to H5N1, the H7N9 causes pneumonia to develop more rapidly and induces a higher fatality among patients, up to 70-80 percent, Kinh warned.
Similar to H5N1, H7N9 first attacks one lung and then the other, thereby causing breathing problems. It seems that the heart and kidneys are less vulnerable to the new strain, but patients have signs of more muscle loss, Kinh said.
More...
http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/8642/h7n9-virus-more-virulent-than-h5n1-ministry-says