China fights to contain surge of deadly ‘bird flu’ infections

BEIJING — Chinese authorities are battling a surge in H7N9 “bird flu” infections and have shuttered live poultry markets across the country after dozens of people in recent weeks were killed by the disease.

As of Friday, health officials confirmed eight deaths and 77 diagnosed cases in February alone, according to Xinhua, the state news agency.

Last month, 192 people in China learned they had the virus, and 79 of them died, according to official numbers released Tuesday. The strain, H7N9, is a bird flu virus that can infect people who come in close contact with infected live or newly killed birds.

The latest deaths include a woman in her 20s and her young daughter, who both had contact with live poultry. In rural and small-town China, many residents prefer to buy live chickens, ducks and geese that are slaughtered on the spot or at home. China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission has banned sales of live poultry in some areas across eastern, southern and southwestern China. The eastern province of Zhejiang ordered all livepoultry markets closed.

Nearly all of the confirmed infections have come from direct contact with birds. But experts worry that the virus could eventually mutate into one that passes easily between people.

The first confirmed outbreak of H7N9 in humans was in 2013 in China. Each subsequent winter and spring has seen a spike in new cases.