China reports man hospitalized with bird flu

China announced on Thursday that a man had been hospitalized with bird flu, according to the New York Times.

The man tested positive for Avian influenza strain H5N6 on July 6 after having a fever, Chinese state media reported. He is currently hospitalized in Bazhong City.

Authorities “activated an emergency response and sterilized the area,” local media reported, according to the Times.

It is not clear whether the 55-year-old handled poultry as part of his job, as the strand of the virus is known to be found in flocks of poultry or in dead birds.

There have been 32 cases of the H5N6 virus and 19 deaths in the Western Pacific Region since 2014, the World Health Organization said in a report last week.

The news comes after the first cases of avian influenza H5N8 in Russia have been found earlier this year.

“Whenever avian influenza viruses circulate in poultry, there is a risk of sporadic infection and small clusters of human cases due to exposure to infected poultry or contaminated environments. Sporadic human cases are not unexpected, ”said the World Health Organization.

Anna Popova, Russia’s public health chief, said earlier this year that the virus “is not passed from person to person. But only time will tell how long it will take for future mutations to overcome this barrier. “

“The discovery of this strain now gives us all around the world the time to prepare for possible mutations and the opportunity to react in a timely manner and to develop test systems and vaccines,” he said. she declared.