<p class="c8 c5"><strong>Technicians wearing protective suits begin to kill poultry at Huhuai poultry wholesale market last week in <a class="c15" href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/03/shanghai/larmer-text">Shanghai</a>, China, where the new <a class="c15" href="http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/h7n9-virus.htm">H7N9 bird flu</a> virus was first detected in pigeons.</strong></p><p class="c1 c5"><strong></strong></p><p class="c8 c5">Eight people have already died and 20 others have been infected with H7N9, all of them in eastern China, <a class="c15" href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/04/09/h7n9-bird-flu-death-toll-rises-to-8/">according to ABC News</a>.</p><p class="c1 c5"><a class="c15" href="http://www.cdc.gov/ncird/div/flu/flu-bios.html">Nancy Cox</a>, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's influenza division, told ABC News that her agency is working on a vaccine that uses the virus's genetic code rather than the virus itself—a first for the CDC.</p><p class="c1 c5">But it's unknown whether the new strain will become a deadly pandemic, writes <a class="c15" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/04/130409-influenza-h7n9-bird-flu-swine-flu-science-china/">David Quammen, author of </a><a class="c15" href="http://www.amazon.com/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pandemic/dp/0393066800"><em>Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic</em></a>,<a class="c15" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/04/130409-influenza-h7n9-bird-flu-swine-flu-science-china/"> in an opinion piece</a>.</p><p class="c1 c5">"Nobody knows, and at this point nobody can know, because influenza viruses are inherently so unpredictable. They mutate continually. Their eight major gene segments snap apart, like Poppit beads, and reconnect with segments from other flu viruses," he wrote.</p><br>

Dirty Job

Technicians wearing protective suits begin to kill poultry at Huhuai poultry wholesale market last week in Shanghai, China, where the new H7N9 bird flu virus was first detected in pigeons.

Eight people have already died and 20 others have been infected with H7N9, all of them in eastern China, according to ABC News.

Nancy Cox, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's influenza division, told ABC News that her agency is working on a vaccine that uses the virus's genetic code rather than the virus itself—a first for the CDC.

But it's unknown whether the new strain will become a deadly pandemic, writes David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, in an opinion piece.

"Nobody knows, and at this point nobody can know, because influenza viruses are inherently so unpredictable. They mutate continually. Their eight major gene segments snap apart, like Poppit beads, and reconnect with segments from other flu viruses," he wrote.


Photograph from Reuters

Pictures: New Bird Flu Hits China

China is taking steps to control the new H7N9 virus, which has already claimed eight lives.

Read This Next

This bird survived Maui’s fires—but it could soon vanish
What happens to your brain when you see a bird in nature?
This bird can predict the intensity of a hurricane season

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet