After nine cases of avian influenza A (H7N9), or bird flu, were reported in mainland China since last fall, two new cases of the A(H5N6) bird flu virus have now been identified in the country, resulting in one death so far.
The first case was a 26-year-old woman from Shenzhen City, in Guangdong, the coastal province in Southeast China immediately north of Hong Kong. She had been exposed to live poultry and came down with symptoms on Dec. 24. She was admitted to a hospital three days later and then died on Dec. 30, at which point the case was reported to the World Health Organization.
The second case, reported to WHO on Jan. 2, is a 40-year-old woman in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. She became ill on Dec. 22 and was sent to a hospital on Dec. 28, where she is isolated and in critical condition.
Her history of exposure to live poultry is unknown, reported state-owned China News Service, which also reported that local officials inspected the poultry market and sellers and punished anyone not complying with sanitation and safety rules.
Nearby Hong Kong and Taiwan have already issued alerts for travel to China.
The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control issued tourism alerts for Zhejiang, Guangdong, Anhui, Hunan, and Shanghai.
