A 21-year-old man in central China's Hubei Province has been infected with H5N1 bird flu and is now in a critical condition, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.

The man, surnamed Lai, is a migrant worker in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei. He showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on April 1 and was hospitalized, said a report released by the ministry.

The patient has been confirmed to be infected with bird flu in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese official standards, the ministry said.

Those who have had close contact with Lai have been put under medical observation by local health authorities. So far, no abnormal symptoms have been reported.

The ministry has reported the new case to the WHO and the regions of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as several other countries.

The case brings the total number of human cases of bird flu in China to 17, which have resulted in 11 deaths.