China Creating Super Viruses, Just ‘Cause

Chinese super virus H1N1 H5N1
China is mixing deadly H5N1 bird flu viruses with H1N1 swine flu viruses. You heard that right. The virus can already be passed between guinea pigs, which are used in these experiments as some sort of guinea pigs. They are making pigs and birds science-bone each other until they come up with some sort of superbug.... Read more »

First case of human-to-human transmission of H7N9 bird flu?

Red feather H7N9 bird flu
There’s a mighty “might” in this, but China Daily is reporting that one person infected with bird flu might have caught the disease from a human host. An investigation by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is underway: The family involves two brothers and their 87-year-old father, who died on March 4 and was reportedly... Read more »

16 Dead Of H7N9 In China As Authorities Realize You Can Get Disease Without Exposure To Poultry

Red feather H7N9 bird flu
China has confirmed 14 new cases of H7N9 bird flu, bringing the total to 77, according to Xinhua, with 16 reported deaths. The virus keeps getting more evolved, too. (Or something?) Beijing’s second case of H7N9 was a carrier who displayed no symptoms: this boy of four years old. The latest, via Reuters, is equally... Read more »

Beijing Has Its 2nd Case Of H7N9, Though Carrier Has Yet To Show Symptoms

Red feather H7N9 bird flu
Intrigue in the bird flu saga. A four-year-old boy in Beijing tested positive for H7N9 yesterday, according to the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, but he has yet to show any symptoms. The boy’s parents, traders of poultry and fish, voluntarily went in to Beijing’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for tests recently. Only the boy’s came... Read more »

Finally, Beijing Has Its First Official Case Of H7N9 Bird Flu

Liu Yaqing, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture
It was only a matter of time, and it's somewhat surprising it's taken this long. Xinhua reports that a seven-year-old girl in Beijing was infected with H7N9, confirmed earlier today after a test by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The girl reported symptoms on Thursday, but after checking into the hospital, she is reportedly in stable condition.

Bird Flu? Take Some Ban Lan Gen And You’ll Be, Ahem, Just Fine

Ban lan gen
It really is amazing what people believe: A few years ago, everyone started eating eggplant after a quack TCM doctor said it was the new panacea; after the Fukushima meltdown, iodized salt was sold out as people rushed to prevent radiation poisoning, never realizing that iodized salt contains such miniscule amounts of iodine that you would first die before getting enough into your system; and now, after several provincial health authorities recommended it to prevent H7N9 infections, people are rushing to buy the traditional Chinese medical remedy for colds and flus, ban lan gen (板蓝根, sometimes rendered as banlan'gen).

9 dead from H7N9 as Shanghai officials consider permanent ban on live poultry [UPDATE: at least 10 detained for spreading rumors]

Red feather H7N9 bird flu
I’ve seen way more live chickens on the streets of Shanghai than Beijing, but soon, we might not see any at all. That’s because authorities are considering a permanent ban on live poultry sales in Shanghai, according to the latest. SCMP brings us this: The director of Shanghai’s agriculture commission, Sun Lei , said it... Read more »