Pandemic Alert: Chinese man age 39, died of bird flu

by YankeeJim | January 22, 2012 at 04:09 am

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On the lookout

Too early to tell how alarming this might be. I wrote yesterday that the U.S. Government has put all H5N1 virus research on hold and stopped the presses on publishing scientific papers until the data is sorted out.

“Man dies of bird flu in southwest China: Xinhua

BEIJING | Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:42am EST

(Reuters) - A man in southwest China died of bird flu on Sunday after three days of intensive caretreatment in hospital, the official Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Health as saying.

The 39-year old -- who died in hospital in Guiyan, capital of Guizhou province -- began suffering from fever on January 6.

Xinhua said China's centers for disease control and prevention at provincial and national levels confirmed the man had died after being infected with the H5N1 bird flu strain.

The man had had close contact with 71 individuals, but none had shown unusual symptoms, the health ministry told Xinhua. The report did not mention whether the man had been in recent contact with birds.

The virus is normally found in birds, but can jump to people who have no immunity to it. Researchers worry it could mutate into a form that would spread around the world and kill millions.”