China reports 5th bird flu death in 2009

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-27 08:31

BEIJING -- An 18-year-old man died from bird flu on Monday in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the fifth human death from the H5N1 virus in China this year.

A customer checks a chicken at a small market in the city of Kaili in China's southwest Guizhou province. An 18-year-old man died Monday of bird flu in southwestern China, becoming the country's fifth victim of the disease this year, the Ministry of Health said. [Agencies]

According to a press release posted on the website of the Ministry of Health, the man surnamed Liang fell ill on January 19 in Beiliu City of Guangxi.

Liang was transferred to Yulin Municipal Red Cross Hospital on January 24. He died on Monday.

The young man tested positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, according to the test result on Monday from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Guangxi has launched an emergency response against the virus. Those who had close contact with the patient are under medical observation. No one has been found ill so far.

The ministry said it had reported the case to the World Health Organization and informed the health authorities of China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Previously, China had reported six human bird flu cases this year, including four deaths. The first death was a 19-year-old woman in Beijing on January 5, followed by a 27-year-old woman in Shandong on January 17, a 16-year-old boy in Hunan on January 20, a 31-year-old woman in Xinjiang on January 23.

A 2-year-old girl in north China's Shanxi Province who was critically ill with the disease was out of danger Friday after her vital signs remained stable for six consecutive days.

A 29-year-old man who had been confirmed as infected with bird flu in southwest China's Guizhou Province on Sunday is still in critical condition, local authorities said.

Shandong and Shanxi ended the emergency response to bird flu on Saturday and Sunday separately.