A 31-year-old man, identified only by his surname Jiang, was suspected to have contracted the deadly H5N1 virus in the boomtown of Shenzhen in Guangdong province and was in critical condition in hospital, Xinhua news agency said.

 

A security guard wearing respirator stands on duty at Donghu Hospital in Shenzhen, Guangdong province June 13, 2006. The suspected bird flu patient is undergoing treatment at the hospital. [newsphoto]

The truck driver, who developed a fever, back pains and a cough on June 3, was admitted to hospital on Friday. Preliminary tests carried out by local health officials showed he had H5N1, it said.

Jiang has since been transferred to another hospital in Shenzhen for "advanced treatment", Xinhua said, adding that provincial authorities had reported the case to the health ministry for verification.

A health ministry spokesman confirmed to AFP that tests were being carried out on the man. He said an official announcement on whether he had contracted bird flu would only be made after the tests were completed.

If confirmed, the man would become China's 19th reported human case of bird flu. Twelve of those cases have been fatal.

China has reported 35 cases of bird flu outbreaks among poultry since October last year, although many of the human cases have been in areas where no outbreaks have been recorded.

Xinhua reported that Jiang may have contracted the virus after his wife had bought a chicken from a wet market two weeks earlier and served it for dinner to him and four other family members.

The other relatives had not shown any signs of illness, the agency said, adding that they were under observation.

More than 120 people worldwide have died from bird flu since it re-emerged as a threat in 2003, with most of the victims in Asia.

Humans are believed to contract the virus mainly from direct contact with infected animals. Scientists fear a global pandemic if the virus mutates and becomes easily transmissible between humans.

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