H7N9 update: China in official “crisis” mode! Poultry slaughtering halted!

03 April 2013/22 Jumada l-Ula 1434/14 Farvardin 1391/23 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission is ordering all health care providers, and local government officials to “foster a sense of crisis”, according to Japan’s NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai).

The H7N9 virus is not only a threat to people, but to China’s economy as well.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is ordering a halt to the use of poultry in upcoming Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Poultry are slaughtered for ritual sacrifice during the religious holiday.  The problem is that it’s now known that this new strain of H7N9 can not be detected in birds, and that infected birds have no symptoms.