World's first H5N6 bird flu death reported in China
A 49-year-old man from China is believed to be the world's first human infected with the H5N6 avian flu strain, CNN reported.
The man, who was from Nanbu county in Sichuan province, died Tuesday in a hospital after receiving treatment, according to the Sichuan Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission. He suffered a severe case of pneumonia and was detected to have the H5N6 strain after a throat swab, according to the agency. The man had been exposed to dead poultry.
Medical experts say this an isolated case and that the risk of human-to-human transmission remains low. People who had close contact with the patient did not show any symptoms after medical observation, according to the commission.
Following this latest case, Taiwan issued a travel warning for Sichaun province, advising them to avoid contact with living or dead birds, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.
The H5N6 is believed to be a low-pathogenic bird flu virus that has been found in Germany, Sweden and United States, according to the Taiwanese news service.
East Asia has seen several bird flu strains infecting humans recently.
In March 2013, a new virus to humans, H7N9 was first reported in China. Since then, 115 people have died and 367 cases of H7N9 have been reported mostly in the country, according to figures from the World Health Organization from February.