13 April 2013 (22:45 UTC-07 Tango 12 April 2013)/02 Jumada t-Tania 1434/24 Farvardin 1392/04 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

“It is possible that these severely ill patients represent the tip of the iceberg and that there are many more as-yet-undetected mild and asymptomatic infections.”-Human Infection with a Novel Avian-Origin Influenza A (H7N9) Virus, NEJM

A seven years old girl is now hospitalized in Beijing, with H7N9.  44 cases, 11 deaths since the end of March.

The girl developed symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat and headache on the morning 11 April.  By the evening she had been unsuccessfully treated with Tamiflu, her condition worsened and she was hospitalized.  Doctors say oxygen treatment reduced the severity of her symptoms.  Test confirmed H7N9.  Her family is involved in the poultry business.

This follows warnings from Chinese and international health officials, that H7N9 is much worse than first thought.

In a report published in NEJM researchers warned the H7N9 virus is more virulent than first thought, and they warned of global spread: “…the pandemic potential of these novel avian-origin viruses should not be underestimated……..We are concerned by the sudden emergence of these infections and the potential threat to the human population. An understanding of the source and mode of transmission of these infections, further surveillance, and appropriate counter measures are urgently required.”

  The report confirmed claims made earlier in the week by health official in Thailand, it’s new to continental Asia, and it’s never infected humans before:  “The transmission of H7 viruses to mammals has been reported only rarely in Asia. Human infections with N9 subtype viruses had not been documented anywhere in the world.”

Of interest is the first three people to die were treated with lots of anti-biotics, which is odd because anti-biotics don’t work on viruses, and “Antiviral therapy was initiated 6 to 7 days after the onset of illness.”