H7N9 virus can attack Vietnam and some Asian countries

A group of scientists from the Free University of Brussels, the International Institute of Animal Research, Oxford University (UK) and the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control said that, apart from China, there are more Five countries in Asia, including Vietnam, may be attacked by the H7N9 bird flu virus.

H7N9 is an influenza A virus that has claimed the lives of about 100 people since it appeared in March 2013 in China.

According to new research published, some areas in five Asian countries, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, are at risk of being attacked by H7N9 virus, because poultry markets still exist. living in the densely populated areas.

Areas of high risk of outbreaks are cities scattered in the coastal areas of East and Southeast China, so far this virus has not been detected, the Bengal region (including Bangladesh and India's West Bengal state). ), upstream areas of the Red River and Mekong River in Vietnam and remote areas of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Poultry markets in the capital of Changsha, central Hunan province stopped selling poultry.(Source: THX / VNA)

Nature Communications recently published a map that tracks the evolution of the H7N9 flu virus with a tool to identify outbreaks.

H7N9 is the second bird flu virus after the H5N1 virus spread in recent years from traders selling live poultry by traders and shoppers in direct contact with infected poultry.

Although the H5N1 strain is thought to be much more dangerous to humans than H7N9, it is more likely to be detected because infected birds are always sick. Meanwhile, H7N9 virus is difficult to detect because poultry often do not show symptoms when infected with this virus.

The researchers say the slow spread of H7N9 infections in central and southern China shows that despite the tight control efforts, it is still difficult to control the H7N9 virus.

Many evidence in Northeast China has shown that concentrated industrial animal farms are not the main source of H7N9 virus infection, but small farms where farmed birds have access to wild birds. more and infected poultry markets are the main source of infection.

The H7N9 initially sparked fears about the ability to easily spread from person to person and lead to global disease. However, Chinese officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that there is no evidence of the possibility of spreading the virus from person to person, despite some cases of infection in the same family.