2nd human H5N6 avian flu reported in S. China

Source:Xinhua

Updated: 2016-01-05

GUANGZHOU, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A second human H5N6 avian flu case has been reported in south China's Guangdong Province within a week, health authorities said on Monday.

The new patient is a 40-year-old woman from Zhaoqing City. She is in a serious condition and receiving treatment in a designated hospital, said an official of the Zhaoqing Municipal Health and Family Planning Bureau.

Last Tuesday, a 26-year-old woman from Shenzhen City was confirmed with the same virus. She is also being treated in a hospital.

Health authorities in Zhaoqing have 64 people who had close contact with the patient under observation and are monitoring five poultry market workers.

The live poultry trade in a market in Zhaoqing was suspended for one week, with all poultry slaughtered and the area disinfected, said the official.

Gene analysis of a sample from the Shenzhen patient indicated her infection was from contact with live poultry or a related environment, said an expert with the Shenzhen Municipal Disease Control and Prevention Center.

People should reduce the chance of coming into contact with live poultry to prevent such infection, said the expert.

The world's first human H5N6 infection was reported in May 2014 in southwest China's Sichuan Province.