Man dies of bird flu, expert warns of increase in cases
6/3/2006 9:43
The Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed a 32-year-old man in Guangdong
Province died of bird flu. Meanwhile, Zhong Nanshan, a SARS expert at the
Chinese Academy of Engineering, warned avian influenza will surely spread around
the world this year and that the virus will likely be transmitted to people via
unknown means. The victim, identified as Lao, was unemployed and lived in
Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong. He showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on
February 22 and died on Thursday. He was the ninth person to die of the H5N1
virus in China. Lao's symptoms followed several visits to an agricultural
market, where he was close to a live poultry slaughtering site. His samples
tested positive for the H5N1 virus, according to the Guangdong Provincial Center
for Disease Control and Prevention. The provincial health department announced
he was a suspected human case of bird flu on Saturday. Yesterday, the
national CDC confirmed the positive test. The victim was confirmed to be
infected with bird flu in accordance with both World Health Organization
standards and official Chinese standards, the health ministry said. Those who
have had close contact with Lao have been put under medical observation by
Guangdong's provincial health authorities. Thus far no abnormal symptoms have
been reported. The ministry has informed the WHO of the case. Authorities in
Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as several countries, have also been
notified. The new case brought the total number of human cases of bird flu in
China to 15. Two are still being treated and four others have been discharged
from hospital. A total of 174 human cases of bird flu including 94 deaths
have been reported around the world to the WHO as of Wednesday, according to its
Website. Meanwhile, China Pacific Life Insurance Co Ltd has paid 100,000
yuan (US$12,500) to the family of a Chinese bird flu victim. It is the first
compensation case related to the bird flu epidemic in the country. On
February 24, the family of a woman surnamed Long reported her death to CPIC
Life's Shenzhen branch. Long was insured by her company since January 1. She
died of bird flu during the Spring Festival. CPIC Life confirmed on Friday
that its Shenzhen branch paid 100,000 yuan to the
family. (Xinhua)
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