New bird flu found to be less deadly than first estimated

The H7N9 strain of bird flu that has killed 38 people in China since March is less deadly than had been supposed, according to the most detailed analysis of the outbreak so far. The risk of death for patients admitted to a hospital with H7N9 infection is about 36 percent, researchers at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Hong Kong wrote in The Lancet medical journal today. While initial reports of severe illness among most patients suggested the virus may be highly lethal, as many as about 27,000 undetected mild cases may have occurred, lowering the risk, the study said. Read More