Chinese health authorities have identified the H7N9 virus in a 4-year-old child not showing any symptoms. The viral strain could therefore be more widespread than previously thought in the population.
The 7-year-old girl infected with the H7N9 virus in Beijing is doing better. An announcement that reassures the authorities on the effectiveness of treatment with antivirals. But Beijing specialists have made another discovery. By performing tests on the neighbors of this little girl’s family, they identified the virus in a 4-year-old child who was not showing any symptoms.
This first reported case of an asymptomatic patient carrying the virus could mean that the H7N9 strain would surely be more widespread in the population than previously thought. This underestimation can have consequences. The greater the number of people infected, the greater the risk of human-to-human transmission.
Listen to Professor Sylvie van der Wer, Director of the National Reference Center for Influenza at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. “The more the virus is in contact with humans, the greater the risk increases to see it adapt and move towards human-to-human transmissibility “
According to Chinese authorities, as of April 15, a total of 63 cases of infection have been recorded, including fourteen fatalities. Three cases have now been reported outside the original outbreaks in eastern China. Two residents of Henan, a province in central China, contracted the disease.
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