There Is A Worrying Sign That The New Bird Flu May Spread Between Humans
AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel A person who had been in contact with a patient that died of H7N9 has been quarantined with flu symptoms, Xinhua reports.
The person had close contact with one of the five patients that have died from this new bird flu.
If this person, who lives in Changhai, does have the H7N9 virus, he could be the 15th case in China.
He is the first of the 400 close contacts that the WHO is monitoring for show signs of infection.
Science writer Ed Yong said on Twitter that this news is a "potential catastrophe." We agree. This could mean that the virus has the ability to spread between humans directly, making it much deadlier, especially because humans don't have a natural immunity to this strain of virus, because it usually can't infect us.