H7N9 kills 1 in Central China

ZHENGZHOU - The H7N9 bird flu killed one person in Central China's Henan province Thursday, local authorities said, bringing the nationwide death toll to 32.

A 56-year-old man surnamed Cui died Thursday afternoon in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou two weeks after his infection was confirmed, the Henan provincial health bureau said in a statement.

Cui suffered from a fever for one week before being admitted to the hospital in critical condition. Medical staff failed to ease his illness, as he also suffered from several other diseases, including hypertension, coronary heart disease and a cerebral infarction, according to the statement.

The man had no direct contact with birds, but there were birdcages hanging in the corridor of the residential building he lived in, the statement added.

Henan has reported four H7N9 cases thus far. The other three patients have since recovered.

China has reported 129 human infections so far, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The commission added that the cases are isolated and there has been no sign of human-to-human transmission.