Chinese man dies of bird flu as virus spreads in Europe
By John Ruwitch
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A man has died from bird flu in
southern China, the ninth death from the H5N1 virus in the
country, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
The man, identified as a 32-year-old with the surname Lao,
was the 15th human bird flu case in China. He died in Guangdong
province, which borders Hong Kong.
In Europe, Poland detected its first case of H5 bird flu in
two swans found dead, the government said on Sunday. Further
tests would be needed to determine if it was the H5N1 strain.
Bird flu has killed at least 94 people in East Asia and the
Middle East since late 2003. Victims contract the virus through
close contact with sick poultry.
However, scientists fear the virus could mutate to spread
from person to person, triggering a global pandemic.
Lao had symptoms of fever and pneumonia on February 22 and
died on March 2, Xinhua said. The symptoms appeared after Lao
made several visits to an agricultural market where he spent a
long time near “a live poultry slaughtering site,” Xinhua said.
“The victim has been confirmed to be infected with bird
flu,” Xinhua said, adding the confirmation was in accordance
with Chinese and World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
Of the 14 previous cases in China, eight were fatal, two
are under treatment and the other four have recovered.
China has reported more than 30 outbreaks of the H5N1
strain in birds across the country in the past year. None of
these has been in Guangdong, but neighboring Hong Kong has
confirmed several cases, fuelling suspicions that authorities
were not being truthful about the situation in Guangdong
province.
Hong Kong would suspend imports of all live poultry from
Guangdong for three weeks starting from Monday, a Hong Kong
government spokesman said. Day old chicks and pet birds would
also be barred from import, he said.
Almost all fresh chickens come from mainland China and more
than 98 percent of frozen poultry meat imports from Jan-Aug of
2005 came from China.
The bird flu virus made its first known jump to humans in
Hong Kong in 1997, killing 6 people.
CHICKEN FOR DINNER
In Europe, Poland detected its first case of H5 bird flu,
the government said on Sunday, as France, Switzerland and
Romania reported further cases of the virus.
Poland said two swans found dead on the banks of the River
Vistula in the northern city of Torun tested positive for H5.
Bird flu has hit at least 14 new countries over the past
month, spreading across Europe and reaching Egypt and West
Africa, adding to fears for the poultry industry and human
health.
Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz was quoted by
news agency PAP on Sunday as saying he would have chicken for
dinner — seen as an attempt to protect the poultry industry.
France’s poultry sector, Europe’s biggest, is losing 40
million euros ($48 million) a month after it recently confirmed
an outbreak of the H5N1 virus at a poultry farm. The news
prompted more than 43 countries to impose curbs on French
poultry products, including foie gras.
France on Sunday said 10 seagulls carrying the H5 virus
were found dead last week in the northern Pas-de-Calais region,
but an official said the birds were not carrying the H5N1
strain.
Switzerland said it had found further cases of the H5 virus
in wild birds, bringing the total number of cases so far to 11.
Samples from four dead birds were being tested for H5N1.
Romania began culling birds as a precaution after it found
new suspected bird flu cases among “fowl in two household
farms” in a Danube river village on Sunday, authorities said.
Polish authorities said they had informed the European
Commission of the outbreak and taken precautionary measures,
including establishing a high-risk zone 3 kilometers (2 miles)
around the outbreak and placing restrictions on the six poultry
farms and four processing plants in the region.
(Additional reporting by Ewa Krukowska, Karolina
Slowikowska, Tom Armitage, Marguerita Choy, Radu Marinas and
Tan Ee Lyn)