A 31-year-old Chinese man from Guangdong province
near Hong Kong has tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza, according
to a Xinhua news report today.
The man, a truck driver, had a fever, back pain,
and coughing that started Jun 3, and he was hospitalized in the
city of Shenzhen Jun 9, according to a story from Agence France-Presse
(AFP) today. He has been transferred to Donghu Hospital in Shenzhen
and is listed in critical condition, Xinhua reported.
The Shenzhen Center for Disease Control said the
man tested positive for H5N1, and samples had been sent to China's
Ministry of Health for verification.
The World Health Organization's (WHO's) global count of human H5N1
cases currently stands at 225 cases worldwide, including 128 deaths,
since the current outbreak began in 2003. China has reported 18
avian flu cases and 12 deaths, all in 2005 and 2006, according to
the WHO.
The infected man might have contracted H5N1 after
his wife bought a chicken from a live-bird market 2 weeks earlier
and served it to him and four other family members, AFP reported,
citing Xinhua. The other relatives have not had symptoms, the story
said. In contrast, a Bloomberg report today said the man himself
may have visited a local wet market.
Shenzhen is about 40 minutes by rail from Hong
Kong, the Bloomberg report said, and thousands commute between the
cities each day or visit Shenzhen to shop. Hong Kong officials are
screening travelers arriving by land for fever and have stepped
up inspections of poultry from mainland China, according to Bloomberg.
News of this human case comes after China's Ministry
of Agriculture issued an emergency order for local governments to
tighten controls over poultry stocks to prevent migratory birds
from infecting them, AFP reported Jun 12. The order focuses on areas
in the flight paths of migratory birds. China has reported 35 outbreaks
of avian flu among poultry since
October 2005, according to AFP.
