January 4, 2012

A middle-aged man from southern China died of avian flu last weekend, the first fatal case of H5N1 virus in China in 18 months.

The 39-year-old bus driver, named Chen, was certified dead after contracting H5N1 virus a week ago. According to a statement by the Shenzhen Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), it is believed that Chen contracted the deadly virus through direct contact with migratory birds and this strain of the virus cannot yet spread between humans.

He was first admitted to hospital with a fever on Christmas Day but died of multi-organ failure after a week in hospital, the Shenzhen CDC said.

Liu, director of Centers for Disease Control Taiwan said: "Generally avian flu is caused by direct contact with sick birds. Different from other epidemics, this (particular) H5N1 virus is not yet transmissible between humans. In the wake of the latest outbreak of bird flu in China, around 100 people who had contact with Chen before he died were examined. The result shows that none of them was found infected."

According to Liu, the outbreak of avian flu is seasonal. Now is the season for birds to migrate from north to south, including those carrying the virus. "Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia are at high risk during this time. Therefore, we should be more alert."

Hong Kong has stepped up vigilance since the latest avian flu outbreak. It has taken a series of measures to prevent further contagion of the deadly virus, such as culling over 17,000 chickens at a wholesale poultry market. It has also temporarily forbidden imports of live chickens from mainland China. The ban has been imposed initially for three weeks.

Dr. Silke Buda, influenza expert from Robert-Koch Institute in Berlin, said so far there has not been a single case of a human contracting H5N1 in Germany or Europe. "H5N1 virus is endemic in some Asian countries, for example, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, India. There humans have close contact with poultry. They handle chickens or ducks differently, also when feeding and cooking them. In fact, humans are rarely infected with H5N1 virus unless you have very close contact with the sick poultry."

H5N1 is a deadly virus. Liu estimates that the death rate of human contracting this virus is over 50%. Besides avoiding direct contact with birds or poultry, Liu suggests that it is essential to cook chickens or ducks as well as their eggs thoroughly before eating.

The eating habits of Chinese who prefer fresh over frozen poultry is to blame for the larger number of people contracting avian flu in China. "Usually live poultry are slaughtered in the wet markets so there's a higher risk of people being exposed to close contact with sick birds in China," said Liu.