Bird flu toll rises to 100 in China

Almost 100 people in China died from the H7N9 bird flu strain in the first three months of the year, government figures showed. A total of 24 people died from the disease in March, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in monthly figures for infectious disease. The total number of deaths for the period is 96. The number of new infections reported in March fell sharply to 24 from 99 in February and 127 in January, the data showed earlier this week, giving a total of 250 cases. Last year China recorded 46 deaths and 144 cases in the H7N9 outbreak, which started early in 2013 and returned in the autumn, according to AFP.