China reports sixth human bird flu case in 2009

Guiyang, China, January 24: A 29 year old man named Zhou in southwest China became infected with the potentially deadly H5N1 virus, making him the country’s sixth human case of bird flu.

According to the test conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhou, who fell sick on Jan. 15, tested positive of avian influenza. He was then sent to Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital and is reported to be in critical condition.

The Ministry of Health issued a statement saying "Epidemiological tests show that the patient previously had exposure to live poultry markets. But nobody with whom he had been in close contact had shown signs of illness.”

Authorities are monitoring those who came in contact with Zhou and are keeping them under medical supervision.

Including the latest case, at least 36 people have been infected in China and 24 have died from H5N1 to date.

According to health officials, five other cases of bird flu surfaced earlier in the year. A 31-year-old woman from Xinjiang region in the far northwest died from the virus. A 16-year-old boy, who had fallen ill on Jan. 8, had succumbed to the disease in the city of Huaihua in central Hunan province.

A week earlier, a 27-year-old woman from eastern China died, and on Jan. 5, a 19-year-old Beijing woman died after handling poultry. In addition, a 2-year-old girl in northern Shanxi had tested positive for bird flu but fortunately recovered.

Guizhou has launched a massive response against the virus. The Ministry of Health has reported the case to the World Health Organization and informed the health authorities of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Irrespective of the sporadic reports of new cases, the Ministry of Health is confident that there is no evidence of a large-scale outbreak of bird flu. The illnesses were isolated, unrelated and did not show significant mutations of the H5N1 virus.

The officials are extra vigilant because the winter months associated with high infections are suspected to have helped the virus spread.

As a precautionary measure, the health authorities launched a daily bird flu reporting system for poultry and human cases. This was aimed at putting to rest concerns about a potential epidemic.

Human to human transmission of avian flu is rare but in some cases the virus has spread from poultry to human beings. Experts foresee the danger that it may evolve into a pandemic threatening millions.