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Because of the morbidity and mortality associated with H5N1 influenza, avian influenza virus infection in humans has garnered considerable attention. Now, investigators describe the clinical profile of three patients in China who died from complications of severe lower respiratory tract disease caused by a novel reassortant avian-origin influenza A (H7N9) virus.
Two of the patients (one residing in Shanghai, the other in Anhui Province) had been present at a chicken market within 7 days of illness onset; the third (also from Shanghai) had no known exposure to live birds within the preceding 2 weeks. All three patients had “high” fever, cough, and dyspnea, and all of them developed acute respiratory distress syndrome. All also had leukopenia,…