Vietnam is among six Asian countries vulnerable to the H7N9 avian influenza virus strain as they have many live poultry markets located inside residential areas, health experts have warned.  

>> H7N9 virus more virulent than H5N1, ministry says >> Hong Kong reports fifth H7N9 bird flu case>> Ministry warns about risk of H7N9 virus spread

These countries include China, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, a group of scientists at the Free University of Brussels, the Kenya-based International Livestock Research Institute, Oxford University, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent study on the spread of the H7N9 virus.  

Areas at the highest risk of the H7N9 epidemic are those located in China’s eastern and southeastern coastal localities, the Bengal region – including Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal – the upstream area of the Hong (Red) and Mekong Rivers in Vietnam, and many remote and isolated places in Indonesia and the Philippines.

H7N9 is the second bird virus alongside H5N1 to have emerged in recent years through live markets, where traders and shoppers come in close contact with infected chickens and ducks, according to AFP.

Regarding the possible spread of the H7N9 virus from China to Vietnam, Tran Dac Phu, head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health’s Preventive Health Department, has said, “The epidemic can penetrate into Vietnam at any time since there are a large volume of people and goods, including poultry, which travel between the two countries at their border every day.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no evidence that the H7N9 virus is being transmitted from human to human.

From the beginning of this year, more than 120 people in China have been infected with H7N9, with dozens of deaths, Xinhua reported on June 17.

In April alone, five H7N9 patients died in Guangdong Province.

Hard to be detected, high mortality rate

Compared to H5N1, the H7N9 strain is difficult to be detected, researchers said, explaining that poultry infected with H5N1 usually show symptoms of the avian flu while those contracting H7N9 usually do not indicate any signs of the disease. Therefore, the H7N9 virus is hard to be controlled, as seen in southern and central China, where it keeps spreading, researchers said.

There has been evidence showing that the main source of pathogen is live poultry markets and small farms in areas where livestock can often contact wild birds, they said.

Many Vietnamese health experts have also warned about the danger of the H7N9 virus.   Compared to H5N1, H7N9 causes pneumonia to develop more rapidly and induces a higher fatality rate among patients, up to 70-80 percent, Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital, said.

Similar to H5N1, the H7N9 virus first attacks one lung and then the other, thereby causing breathing problems. It seems that the heart and kidneys are less vulnerable to the new strain, but patients have signs of more muscle loss, Dr. Kinh said.

As there is no known vaccine against the H7N9 strain, the main precautions are maintaining personal hygiene, washing hands thoroughly with soap, and using nose and throat solutions, the Health Ministry advised.

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