China reports new death from H5N6 bird flu

Two more cases of H5N6 bird flu, including a dead man, have been reported in mainland China, health officials said Thursday evening. An increase in isolated cases worried some researchers who called for increased surveillance.

Hong Kong’s health ministry said in a statement Thursday that it had been made aware of two additional cases of H5N6 in mainland China, one of which occurred in the same city as the fatal case reported on Wednesday. There was no word from the local authorities.

The first case involved a 55-year-old man from Guilin, a city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, who visited a live poultry market before developing symptoms on August 23. He was admitted to hospital on August 30 and remains in serious condition.

Another case was reported in the same city on Wednesday and involved a 26-year-old woman who developed symptoms on August 14 after contact with live poultry. She was hospitalized five days later and has since died.

Thursday’s second case involves a 72-year-old man from Chongqing who came into contact with sick poultry before developing symptoms on September 16. He was hospitalized three days later and has since died.

Only 48 people have been infected with H5N6 bird flu since the first confirmed case in 2014, but a third of these have been reported in the past 2.5 months alone. Half of all cases have been reported in the past year.

H5N6 bird flu is known to cause serious illness in humans of all ages and has killed more than half of those infected, according to the WHO. There are no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, although a 61-year-old woman from Guilin has denied coming into contact with live poultry after testing positive in July.

A study published by the China Center for Disease Control on September 18 found multiple mutations in two recent cases. “The increasing genetic diversity and geographic distribution of H5N6 pose a serious threat to the poultry industry and human health,” the researchers said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) did not respond to requests for comment on the increase in isolated cases.

“While the recently identified avian influenza viruses do not spread easily from person to person, the continued circulation of these viruses in poultry is of concern as these viruses cause serious illness in humans and have the potential to mutate to become more contagious between people, ”the WHO says on its website. “The WHO health emergency program is therefore constantly monitoring human cases of avian influenza.