Beijing has reported its first case of infection of the latest strain of bird flu virus, which has killed 11 and sickened 32 in eastern China, according to a report.
The first confirmed case is a 7-year-old girl, the Beijing Health Bureau said Saturday, adding that the parents of the girl work in live poultry trade. The girl, who was not named, was admitted to hospital Thursday with symptoms of fever, sore throat, coughing and headache.
It said she was confirmed to be infected with the H7N9 virus on Saturday after tests by disease control and prevention centers.
The Beijing Health Bureau said in a statement that the girl is in stable condition in a hospital and that two people who had been in close contact with her showed no flu symptoms.
Meanwhile, health officials believe people are contracting the H7N9 virus through direct contact with infected fowl and say there is no evidence the virus is spreading easily among people.
In a report published late Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, samples from three patients -- all of whom died -- had mutations that have previously been shown to increase transmissibility, and to help the virus grow in a mammal's respiratory tract.
The strain is normally found in birds, and until last month was never known to infect people.
"The H7N9 situation is evolving very quickly," said Nancy Cox, director of the Influenza Division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "One thing of concern is the pace at which we are seeing the identification of cases."
