Bird flu kills 20, infects dozens in China – state media

The death toll from the H7N9 bird flu virus in China reaches 20, with dozens infected. On Sunday, state media reports the new strain of bird flu is detected in 102 people, mostly in Eastern China. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention earlier said 40 percent of patients with H7N9 did not come into contact with poultry, raising questions about how people are becoming infected. There are reports the virus spread among family members in Shanghai, raising fears it was passing between humans. But the World Health Organization says there is still “no evidence of ongoing human-to-human transmission”.

A team of international health experts is on a week-long mission in Beijing and Shanghai to investigate the virus. Experts fear the virus may mutate into a form transmissible between humans.

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