A Chinese man has died of a new strain of avian flu H5N6 while being treated in a hospital, becoming the first human to have been affected by the deadly virus, the state media reported today.
The 49-year-old man hailing from Nanbu county in Sichuan province died yesterday, becoming the first human to have been hit by the new virus called H5N6.
He died while receiving the treatment at a hospital, the Sichuan Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission said.
He suffered a severe case of pneumonia and was detected to have the H5N6 strain after a throat swab, CCTV reported.
The patient had been exposed to dead poultry and was initially diagnosed as having pneumonia, state-run Xinhua news agency said today, adding that authorities said people who had had close contact with him have shown no symptoms.
Last year three types of bird flu - H7N9, H10N8 and H6N1 - infected humans for the first time, all in China. About one-fifth of the 419 cases of H7N9 infections proved fatal. Two people contracted H10N8, while a woman in Taiwan who was infected with H6N1 bird flu recovered, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported.
