While Guangzhou implements its frozen chicken program that will phase out live poultry markets in the city, the Guangdong Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed a new infection of the H7N9 virus yesterday, reported Dongguan News.

The patient is a 53 year-old woman from Luohu District in Shenzhen named Zhong. She was diagnosed with avian flu on May 1. Zhong has suffered from bronchitis for 20 years.

Meanwhile, the latest fatality from avian flu is a patient named Gu from Heyuan, who contracted the H7N9 virus on April 9. Gu succumbed to the illness on April 21.

The last report of an avian flu outbreak in Guangdong happened on April 20 when the health commission reported a positive diagnosis of the disease in a patient named Wang, a 55 year-old woman from Shantou. Prior to that, Guangdong experienced an outbreak of five avian flu cases at the beginning of April throughout the province.

Meanwhile, a case from March has a victim’s family blaming the hospital for negligence. A Dongguan man contracted a fever and died four days after coming into contact with live poultry, but to the family’s dismay, the hospital refused to categorize his illness as avian flu. In related developments, online rumors that a Shenzhen doctor contracted and died from contracting avian flu have been denied by the Shenzhen Health and Family Planning Commission.

As we previously reported, the newest measure to help safeguard against an avian flu outbreak is the closing of live poultry markets in Guangzhou in favor of a centralized slaughterhouse that will instead ship out frozen chickens for consumption. However, a survey revealed that many city residents are opposed to the ban: 38 percent of residents are not in favor of closing the live poultry markets, while 66 percent believe that frozen chicken will compromise the taste and flavor of cooked chicken dishes.

Photo: 3158

Related:
Shenzhen Man Confirmed with Avian Flu, Now in Stable Condition
3 Year-Old Boy in Dongguan Diagnosed with H7N9
Bird Flu Which Killed Shenzhen Man Can’t Be Transmitted Between Humans