Tuesday, April 18, 2006
New human avian flu case reported in Hubei (China)
A NEW case of human bird flu has been confirmed in Hubei Province, bringing the total of people infected to 17, including 11 deaths.
The Ministry of Health, which confirmed the diagnosis, said the patient, a man surnamed Lai, was a migrant worker in Wuhan City, capital of Hubei.
He was in critical condition in a hospital, the ministry said.
Lai, 21, who worked as a security guard in Wuhan, began running a fever and experiencing pneumonia symptoms on April 1.
After testing by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday, Lai’s sample was positive for the virulent H5N1 flu strain.
People who had come in close contact with Lai were put under medical observation by provincial health authorities.
None had shown abnormal symptoms, the ministry said.
China reported the case to the World Health Organization.
It was not known how he contracted the disease, but most of those infected had been in close contact with infected poultry.