According to a report from China Daily, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has already approved four types of bird flu virus vaccines for clinical trial.
State-owned, Beijing-based Beijing Tiantan Biological Products Co, the firm that developed the vaccines, shared the news in an announcement on Wednesday.
In a statement released last week, the country's top drug watchdog meanwhile noted that they will continue providing help in conducting clinical trials for this kind of vaccine so it can enter the market immediately.
To ensure safety, the vaccine-making company said that they will do all other necessary post-trial procedures before finally selling the products in the market. These include drug registration and the acquisition of CFDA's certificates for manufacture.
Currently, there are no vaccines available for the H7N9 strain of bird flu, may it be in the local or foreign market. Nonetheless, Beijing Tiantan shared that other Chinese firms have requested CFDA's approval for clinical trials for the similar type of vaccines.
In China, bird flu statistics typically arise in winter and spring where the virus is most active. Currently, Beijing has tallied two human cases of the H7N9 strain this year. According to the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, both patients, who have been exposed to live poultry markets, are in critical condition.
Based on a report from the Regional Health and Family Planning Commission of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, a 41-year-old woman infected with the strain had died on Sunday, adding another casualty to the list of China's bird flu deaths.
To prevent the number of deaths and patients from rising, the government is intensifying its efforts to control the spread of bird flu. The National Health and Family Planning Commission stated that they are already shutting down live poultry markets as part of the preventive measures.
Furthermore, the commission is urging the public to take their own part in this initiative, calling on them to cook meat thoroughly and avoid contact with live poultry.
Since October, 16 provinces have already reported human cases of H7N9, including Hunan, Fujian and Yunnan. In mainland China, bird flu cases have already reached 192 for Jan. 2017 alone. This figure includes 79 deaths--the most number since the virus was first discovered in the country four years ago.
The Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the city should expect for more sporadic cases in the future.