Memorializing the First Confirmed Case of A(H7N9)
Since February 2013, a novel avian influenza virus, A (H7N9), has infected more than 130 individuals in the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. At least 44 of these infected individuals have died. In a current article in the journal Respiratory Care , Chinese medical specialists report on the case-patient details of the first officially confirmed case from March 2013.[1] Even with treatment, The 87-year-old man died a few days after admission to the hospital on March 4, 2013. The authors state . . . we identified the world’s first human case of avian influenza A H7N9 virus infection. When we first admitted this patient, there were no health care guidelines that we could follow. Even in the absence of a definite diagnosis of influenza infection, we actively carried out isolation protection in accordance with the standard hospital infection-protection protocols while closely coordinating the activities of diff...