China mobilizes in the fight against the new bird flu.
A new strain of H7N9 avian influenza does not appear to be transmitted from human to human, but Hong Kong authorities have issued a preliminary alert and said they are taking precautions at the airport; the virus has already killed four people.
BEIJING, April 4 (Reuters) China said it has mobilized resources across the country to combat a new strain of bird flu that has already killed four people, with Japan and Hong Kong stepping up surveillance against the virus and Vietnam banning imports of Chinese poultry.
The new H7N9 strain of avian influenza does not appear to be transmitted from human to human, but Hong Kong authorities have issued a preliminary alert and said they are taking precautions at the airport.
In Japan, airports have put up posters at entry points to warn all passengers on Chinese airlines to seek medical attention if they suspect they have avian flu.
A total of 11 people in China have been confirmed to have contracted H7N9, all in the east of the country.
The most recent case was a 64-year-old man from Huzhou, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, who state media said on Thursday had been admitted to the hospital on March 31.
Another person died on Thursday in Shanghai, raising the death toll to four, state media said. The Xinhua news agency said the victim was a 48-year-old man who worked delivering poultry.
In Hong Kong, authorities have activated the preliminary "Alert Response Level" under a preventative plan for a flu pandemic, which requires close monitoring of farms, vaccination, culling schemes, and a suspension of live poultry imports from the mainland.
All passengers on flights to and from Hong Kong were being asked to notify flight attendants or airport staff if they were feeling unwell.
Vietnam said it had banned poultry imports from China, citing the risk of H7N9.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard)