Hong Kong ( AsiaNews) - A 80 year old man died yesterday at the Princess Margaret Hospital , becoming the first victim of the H7N9 strain of avian influenza. The virus was discovered in Hong Kong last December 2.
The deceased was a man who came to Hong Kong from Shenzhen. He had arrived in the area on 3 December to seek treatment for heart problems and diabetes. After three days he developed symptoms of cold, he was discovered to be carrying the flu and was put in intensive care .
All the people with whom he came in contact - including three family members and a taxi driver - were put under observation, but no one has contracted the infection.
Another case of H7N9 discovered in the area on December 2 is that of a 36 year-old Indonesian maid, who so far is in stable condition .
Both cases are related to Shenzhen: the man lived there and is likely to have eaten chicken from one of the many markets in the city, the woman went to Shenzhen, and had handled the chickens to the market.
In 2013 there were 143 cases of bird flu in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, with more than 40 dead. In China alone are 138 cases .
Hong Kong is very sensitive to viral infections after an outbreak of SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2003, which hit the area , killing 299 people and infecting at least the 1800s.