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H7N9 virus
Hong Kong

Hong Kong on standby for H7N9 outbreak as China confirms three new cases

Government says it cannot rule out possibility of outbreak in city; Shanghai and Anhui confirm three new H7N9 cases

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China has reported 21 human cases of the H7N9 flu virus, including six deaths. Photo: EPA
Daniel Renin Shanghai,He Huifengin GuangdongandJohnny Tam

China confirmed three more cases of H7N9 bird flu, two in Shanghai and one in Anhui, while Nanjing become the second mainland city to ban live poultry sales.

The latest cases in Shanghai and Anhui brought the total number of confirmed H7N9 cases across the nation to 21 - ten in Shanghai, six in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and two in Anhui. Four patients in Shanghai and two in Zhejiang have died.

Hong Kong's government said it could not rule out the possibility of an outbreak in the city.

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Local governments in the Yangtze river delta stepped up efforts to contain the virus as it was found in more live poultry.

Authorities in Nanjing, the Jiangsu capital, closed all wholesale markets at dawn yesterday. All remaining live poultry was culled in Shanghai after 20,000 birds were killed on Friday.

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In Hangzhou, authorities closed a farmers' market after the virus was detected in live quails. One of the current patients had eaten quail sold there.

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