Beijing, April 20 (IANS) The number of people affected with H7N9 avian influenza, or bird flu risen to 91 Friday evening, with four new cases being found in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Seventeen people have died of the flu so far.
Confirming the upswing in the bird flu cases in its daily update Friday, the country's national health and family planning commission said of the total, seven H7N9 patients have been discharged from hospitals, Xinhua reported.
The other 67 patients were being treated in designated hospitals, it said.
A total of 32 cases, including 11 that have ended in death, have been reported from Shanghai city alone.
The country officially confirmed the occurrence of humans infected with the H7N9 virus late last month.
According to the commission, China's confirmed H7N9 cases are isolated and there has been no sign of human-to-human transmission.