China reports first H5N6 death in Sichuan

Chickens at a poultry market that has been closed due in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on Feb 17, 2014. A man from the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan has died after being infected with the H5N6 virus, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tue
Chickens at a poultry market that has been closed due in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on Feb 17, 2014. A man from the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan has died after being infected with the H5N6 virus, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday. -- FILE PHOTO: AFP

NANCHONG, China - A man from the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan has died after being infected with the H5N6 virus, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

It was the first known human infection and fatality caused by the H5N6 strain of avian influenza.

The 49-year-old man from Nanchong, Nanbu county died of acute pneumonia on Tuesday, reported Central News Agency. He had been exposed to dead poultry before falling seriously ill by April 22.

A sample from chickens raised in a Nanbu farm was tested positive for the H5N6 strain, the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory confirmed last Saturday.

Some 1,338 poultry in the area had been culled, reported South China Morning Post.

None of those who had been in close contact with the victim had reported ill, the Hong Kong daily added, a sign that the risk of human-to-human transmission was generally low, but some experts had warned against complacency.

Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control issued a travel alert on Tuesday, advising those who must travel to Sichuan to avoid "coming into contact with fowl, either live or dead", reported Focus Taiwan.

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