Bird flu claims 35 lives in Chinese province

At least 35 people have died in China's Jiangsu province due to H7N9 avian flu in the last three months, official media said today.
Twenty-one of the 49 people infected with flu died last month, while 14 of the 54 people admitted for treatment in December last year have died, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
H7N9 has entered its peak season, and direct contact with live poultry remains the main source of infection, saidBao Changjun with provincial centre for disease control and prevention.
Cold weather provides the virus with a better environment and smog makes people vulnerable to infections, Bao added.

The public are advised to avoid direct contact with poultry and wear masks when symptoms such as headache, fever, coughing and chest congestion appear, the report said.
H7N9 is a bird flu strain first reported to have infected humans in China in March 2013.
It is most likely to strike in winter and spring.