A Lethal Bird Flu Returns to China

An especially virulent form of bird flu has taken a record-breaking toll this year in China, raising alarms in Beijing and at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva. The H7N9 form of influenza, which first emerged in China in March 2013, has killed eighty-seven people between January 1 and February 12, 2017, more than in any previous season since the original outbreak, in 2013. On February 11, health authorities identified this year’s first acute case, in Beijing, raising national concerns in China.