5 bird flu human cases reported in China

Five human H7N9 avian flu cases have been reported in east China's Shandong and Jiangxi provinces as well as the central province of Hunan.
The male patient from Shandong's Laiwu City, 53, is receiving treatment in the provincial capital of Jinan, local officials said yesterday.
Local health sectors have conducted investigations, risk evaluations and disinfected possible areas of transmission to prevent the virus from spreading.
Three patients, two females and a male aged at 72, 83 and 48, have been hospitalised in Jiangxi.
Local health authorities said the two female patients were in serious condition, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the Hunan provincial disease control and prevention center, the patient, a 35-year-old male from Zhuzhou City, is in serious condition.

He was confirmed to have had close contact with poultry before being hospitalised.
Another two H7N9 cases were reported in Shenzhen City in south China's Guangdong Province on Friday while a patient died in Shandong's Rizhao City on Tuesday.
H7N9, a bird flu strain most likely to strike in winter and spring, was first reported to have infected humans in China in March, 2013.