China confirms latest human bird flu case
|
|
China confirmed its eighth human infection from bird flu on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said, revealing that a 6-year-old boy came down with the symptoms in December.
The boy, surnamed Ouyang and from Guiyang county in the central province of Hunan, is undergoing hospital treatment for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, Xinhua said in a brief report, citing the health ministry.
H5N1 is the bird flu virus that scientists fear may mutate into a strain that can spread easily among people, unleashing a human pandemic that could kill millions.
The H5N1 virus has killed more than 70 people since late 2003 and is endemic in poultry flocks across parts of Asia.
Turkey last week reported the first case of H5N1 jumping from birds to humans outside east Asia in an impoverished eastern part of the country, where three children from the same family died.
On Monday, Turkey reported that 13 children were among 23 people undergoing tests for bird flu in Istanbul.
China, along with Vietnam, has suffered numerous outbreaks in poultry since October and Beijing has launched sweeping measures to stop the virus spreading and infecting more people, including a campaign to vaccinate all domestic poultry.
Late last month China announced its third death from bird flu.
The Xinhua report did not offer any details of the latest case’s background, nor did it say how he may have contracted the H5N1 virus. Previous infections have involved people who had close contact with poultry.
Print Version
Tell-a-Friend comments powered by Disqus
