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One dies of bird flu in China

NANJING: A man in east China’s Jiangsu province died of bird flu on Sunday, the provincial health department reported.

The 24-year-old man, surnamed Lu, developed fever, chill and other symptoms on November 24 and was hospitalised on November 27 after being diagnosed with “lower left lobe pneumonia”.

Lu’s condition deteriorated after he was hospitalised and he died on Sunday. Lu was the 17th Chinese to die of avian flu so far.

A respiratory tract sample from the man that was examined by the Jiangsu Provincial Disease Control and Prevention Centre on Saturday was H5N1 positive. The man had not had any contact with infected or deceased fowl, said the health department. A test done by the China Disease Control and Prevention Centre on Sunday also indicated that the man was H5N1 positive.

In line with the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of avian flu infection and Chinese standards, the Ministry of Health concluded that Lu had been infected with bird flu. The local government has taken prevention and control measures. All the 69 persons who had close contact with Lu have been put under strict medical observation. So far, they have shown no signs of the disease.

The Ministry has reported the case to the WHO, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and some foreign governments.

Jiangsu-based specialists for prevention and control of the disease said bird flu was an infectious disease shared by poultry and man, but human infections were mainly caused by contact with dead or diseased domestic fowl. It is also spread by migratory birds.

No cases of human-to-human transmission of the flu have been reported, according to these experts.

The Jiangsu Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau said no epidemic had been discovered.

China has reported 26 human cases of bird flu since 2003, which have resulted in 17 deaths. Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily from person to person, sparking a global pandemic. — Xinhua

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