China bird flu deaths on the rise; authorities fretted

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New Delhi: More than 79 people in China have died from H7N9 bird flu last month raising concern among authorities.

January`s fatalities were up to four times higher than the same month in past years, and brought the total H7N9 death toll to 100 people since October, data from the National Health and Family Planning Commission showed late on Tuesday.

Authorities have repeatedly warned the public to stay alert for the virus, and cautioned against panic in the world`s second-largest economy.

But the latest bird flu data has sparked concerns of a repeat of previous health crises, like the 2002 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

"It`s mid-February already and we are just getting the January numbers. With the death rate almost catching up with SARS, shouldn`t warnings be issued earlier?" said one user of popular microblog Sina Weibo.

Other netizens in the Chinese blogosphere worried about the pace of infections, and called for even more up-to-date reports.

China has come a long way in learning how to communicate to the public and to respond to health crises since the SARS outbreak, when official reports of infections were criticised for their slowness and irregularity.

Chinese chicken prices sank to their lowest levels in more than a decade on Wednesday, hammering meat processors share prices amid fears that bird flu could hit demand in one of the world`s top poultry markets.

(With Reuters inputs)