A 38-year-old man in Shanghai has been diagnosed with H7N9 avian flu and is being treated in a hospital, reports China Central Television News. It is the second such case reported in China in just over a week. 

Last Friday, Novermber 28, China confirmed a new human infection of the deadly H7N9 avian influenza virus, the first case this winter in the southern province of Guangdong, according to China state news agency Xinhua.

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A 31-year-old woman from the city of Dongguan, was confirmed to have been infected with the virus, Guangdong's health and family commission said in a statement on its website. The patient was last reported to be in critical condition, and was being treated in the provincial capital of Guangzhou.

Avian influenza H7N9 is a subtype of influenza viruses that have been detected in birds, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This particular virus had not previously been seen in either animals or people until it was found in March 2013 in China.

The WHO says that the disease is of concern because most patients have become severely ill. Most of the cases of human infection with this avian H7N9 virus have reported recent exposure to live poultry or potentially contaminated environments, especially markets where live birds have been sold.

The virus does not appear to transmit easily from person to person, and sustained human-to-human transmission has not yet been reported.

The H7N9 bird flu first afflicted three people in China in March 2013. Since then, it has infected more than 450 people, 175 of whom died. Infections were so serious that police in southwestern China detained three people for spreading rumors about the bird flu strain, Reuters reports.

The first case of H7N9 found outside China was reported in Malaysia Feb. 12. The virus was detected in a traveler from an affected area in China. According to the CDC, the new H7N9 virus has not yet been detected in people or birds in the U.S.

TagsShanghai Man Stricken with H7N9 Bird Flu, China’s Second Case in a Week, H7N9 avian flu, Dongguan, Virus, influenza