Beijing: China yesterday confirmed three new cases of H7N9 avian influenza, with one more death in Jiangsu Province.
The National Health and Family Planning Commission said 63 cases had been reported, including 14 deaths.
The new infections were reported in Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.
Photos of 10 dead sparrows on a Chinese pavement which went viral on social media and drew a swift official response show how hard covering up a bird flu outbreak would be in the Internet age. China has won international praise for its transparency on the H7N9 strain, in sharp contrast to criticism for trying to conceal the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.
But analysts say the government has little choice, as technological change over the past decade and the proliferation of Twitter-like “weibo” microblogs help drive greater official openness.
China keeps a tight grip on the Internet, censoring content it deems politically sensitive and keeping a close watch even on euphemisms that citizens use to evade scrutiny.
Rumours about SARS, which later proved true, forced China to be more forthcoming about that disease, which originated in the country and killed about 800 people around the world.
The World Health Organization said it was pleased with China’s information sharing on H7N9, while US experts said it had quickly released the genome sequences needed to develop a vaccine and research the virus.
In Kuala Lumpur, the Health Ministry’s Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre said it was monitoring unusual occurrences daily through 513 health facilities throughout the country.
It said national reference laboratories were ready and capable of detecting new strains of viruses, including H7N9 bird flu.
Taiwan is planning a permanent ban on the killing of live poultry in traditional markets amid concerns over the spread of the H7N9 avian flu virus in China, an official said.
The new rule will come into effect on June 17, as an agricultural law requires a grace period for preparation, according to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.
However, it said the ban would be implemented immediately if a human case of the H7N9 bird flu was reported. Agencies
