Follow us on:   

Xi calls on strident measures to defeat H7N9
April 19, 2013, 11:21 am

[BRICS5]

President Xi said local authorities should prioritise public safety and health [BRICS5]

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called for effective measures to contain the spread of the H7N9 avian flu even as a visiting WHO team started their probe into the infections in Beijing and Shanghai.

Eighty seven cases have been reported so far, resulting in 17 deaths.

President Xi said local authorities should prioritise public safety and health, as well as strengthen disease control and prevention.

A statement was released by the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) today.

Areas that have experienced human H7N9 infections should prioritise treating the patients and make every effort to reduce deaths from the disease, Xi said.

Human infections have been found in six provinces in China, including Beijing and Shanghai municipalities and the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also said today that China is cooperating closely with WHO and other international organisations on the H7N9 avian flu.

The government has ordered the suspension of wild bird sales to prevent spread of the H7N9 bird flu.

A report by a team of Chinese experts, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicates that H7N9 causes unusually severe respiratory infection, sepsis and brain damage, and appears to be resistant to vaccination and treatment.

With inputs from Xinhua