H7N9 bird flu outbreak could pose 'serious risk' says WHO

New strain of disease has already killed 24 people in China and is mutating rapidly

A woman wears a face mask as she walks past a poster showing how to avoid the H7N9 avian influenza virus, by a road in Beijing on April 24, 2013. International experts probing China's H7N9 bi
(Image credit: 2013 AFP)

DOCTORS in the UK have been warned to look out for a new strain of bird flu that has killed 24 people and infected more than 120 in China. The strain poses a "serious threat" to human health, according to the World Health Organisation.

The H7N9 virus originated in China and so far all but one of the cases have been found there. The other was discovered in neighbouring Taiwan.

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