4/11/2013 @ 12:00AM |3,960 views
H7N9 Bird Flu Cases Rise To 33, Deaths Reach Nine in China; KFC Sales Slump
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Five new cases of the deadly bird flu H7N9 were found in China yesterday, increasing the total in the country to 33, the state-run Shanghai Daily Newspaper reported today. Nine people have died to date.
The government expressed confidence yesterday that the outbreak was under control. “Overall, the outbreak is at a stage where it can be prevented and contained,” Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as telling state television.
Eastern Chinese cities that have been hardest hit have been closing live poultry markets and taking other precautions to limit the spread of the new virus. China was the epicenter of the SARS epidemic in 2003 which killed several hundred people worldwide.
H7N9 has already been hurting the poultry industry. Shares in Yum!, which runs the big KFC chain, lost more than 2% in afterhours trading after the company said same-store KFC sales in China in March fell 16% amid consumer worries about the flu.
Shanghai has had 15 H7N9 cases so far, more than any other city.
– Follow me on Twitter @rflannerychina