Men twice as likely to contract the lethal H7N9 bird flu than women: report
April 30, 2013 Leave a comment
Men twice as likely to contract H7N9 than women: report
Staff Reporter, 2013-04-30
Men are twice as likely to contract the deadly H7N9 avian influenza than women, according to Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center. Based on analysis of existing H7N9 cases reported in China, which have risen to 125 as of Sunday, including 23 deaths, the center found that there were twice as many male victims than there were female. In terms of age, those 50 years or older account for 74% of all cases, with patients aged between 30 to 39 following at 11%, and those aged between 40 and 49, accounting for 7%. Patients aged between 20 and 29 account for 5%, while only 3% of victims are under ten years old.Taiwan’s deputy health minister Lin Tzou-yien, said that the proportion of older victims is much higher than during the previous H5N1 bird flu outbreak in 2008 — especially among males.
According to data compiled by the World Health Organization on the 63 confirmed patients between March 31 and April 16, the average age of H7N9 victims is 64, with the virus mortality rate among both male and female victims over the age of 60, standing at 20%.
Shih Shin-ru, director of the Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections at Taiwan’s Chang Gung University, is one of many scientists attempting to understand the virus through its genetic code. Currently, the virus appears confined to transmit from birds to humans but the concern is that the virus could evolve to become an effective type of human-to-human transmission, she said.
Previous tests of the H5N1 subtype of the bird flu in ferrets showed that the virus can mutate quickly to become an effective airborne killer. But humans and ferrets are very different, as are the H5N1 and H7N9 subtypes, Shih said, adding that gene sequencing can only provide a direction for speculation and genetic shifts will require further observation.
Huang Li-min, director of pediatric infectious diseases at National Taiwan University Hospital, said the scientific world is still searching for answers when it comes to the H7N9 virus and it remains unclear just how much genetic mutation is required before it can spread effectively among humans.
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