A new strain of bird flu has started and has been declared “one of the most lethal” viruses. It has sickened 109 and killed 22 all in China. Now the World Health Organization, or WHO, has announced that it has also spread to Taiwan.
A businessman from Taiwan, 53, contracted the deadly virus named the H7N9 while visiting China. The business man was hospitalized after being ill for a few days. He is reported to be in severe condition.
Taiwan’s Health Department Minister Wen-Ta Chiu stated that the Taiwanese government will be taking action against the H7N9 virus, such as creating special out-patient clinics for any cases.
The virus has attracted the attention of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC. According to the CDC some of the mutations of the virus had almost mutated far enough to the point that some antivirals would have been ineffective. Dr. Joseph Bresee, a flu expert at the CDC stated that they do not yet know if the virus is being passed from person to person or if it is still being transmitted only by birds.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said “”The main thing now is to figure out how this virus spreads and where it lives, until then, we’re shooting in the dark.”