China bird flu death toll rises

China's death toll from H7N9 avian influenza rose to 20, out of 102 confirmed infections reported, officials said Monday.

 

Health authorities in the eastern province of Zhejiang reported the latest two deaths in a 76-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman, the provincial government said. World Health Organization experts are in China to study the spread of H7N9 and possible human transmission of the virus.

 

Chinese and international experts suspected human transmission of H7N9 "in very rare cases," Michael O'Leary, WHO China representative, said last week. Most of the 102 infections confirmed were in Zhejiang, nearby Shanghai and the neighbouring provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu.