Fears in Hong Kong and Guangdong as H7N9 virus hits Hunan

A 64-year-old woman from Shaoyang in Hunan province was diagnosed with H7N9 bird flu yesterday, sparking fears that the virus might soon emerge in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

The provincial health department said the woman's case was the first confirmed in Hunan, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, a 54-year-old man who sells pork in Jiangxi province, and who was admitted to hospital in Hunan, was also diagnosed with the H7N9 strain yesterday.

China National Radio said the latest cases raised the number of people infected with the virus to 121, of whom 23 have died.

Cases in the past week in the southern provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian - which all border Guangdong - suggest that the virus might surface in Guangdong.

Officials in Dongguan yesterday ordered the closure and sterilisation of the local poultry markets. Other areas in Guangdong have also stepped up inspections and virus tests in poultry markets.

In the academic arena, a fast-tracked study, published in medical journal by University of Hong Kong microbiologist Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and Zhejiang University found that further adaptation of the virus could lead to less severe symptoms and more efficient person-to-person transmission.