CHINA: A 26-year-old woman died of the H5N6 bird flu strain and another woman is in critical condition, health authorities in south China’s Guangdong Province said Tuesday.
Gene analysis of a sample from the dead patient indicated her infection was from contact with live poultry or a poultry market, according to Shenzhen Municipal Disease Control and Prevention Centre.
Health authorities said that the patient’s rapid death was because she didn’t visit the hospital until she was already seriously sick.
Another infected patient, a 40-year-old woman from Zhaoqing city, is in severe condition and receiving hospital treatment.
One dead, one in serious condition from H5N6 bird flu in south China
According to authorities, the two cases were both isolated cases and there was no evidence of human to human infection.
Guangdong has reported three H5N6 infections so far this year.
As a subtype of the Avian Influenza species, H5N6 has been detected in poultry in China, Laos, and Vietnam. Meanwhile, all the reported six human illnesses from H5N6 have occurred in China.
The World Health Organization says that human cases of bird flu remain uncommon, with sporadic cases occurring following exposure to infected poultry or a contaminated environment.
Symptoms of H5N6 affection mainly include high fever, cough and other respiratory infection syndromes.
