Fifth death from bird flu reported in south China

[Coventina]

Source: Xinhua

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- An 18-year-old man died from bird flu on Monday in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the fifth human death from the H5N1 virus in China this year.

According to a press release posted on the website of the Ministry of Health, the man surnamed Liang fell ill on Jan. 19 in Beiliu City of Guangxi.

Liang was transferred to Yulin Municipal Red Cross Hospital on Jan. 24. He died on Monday.

The young man tested positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, according to the test result on Monday from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.



Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/26/content_10722968.htm

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I don't normally like to post from Xinhua, but they are the ones reporting the negative news this time....

[raccoon]

1. Man, at a glance I thought the title said, "south Carolina."

Whew!

[Baby Snooks]

2. It may soon say South Carolina...

While there are few cases so far nonetheless the virus has mutated and humans are susceptible and with each human case the virus will mutate some more and potentially become a deadly flu pandemic which worries everyone. Nature can come up with far deadlier viruses than any biological lab can. And avian viruses are among the deadliest.

It won't take long for it to spread around the globe - all it will take really is one plane here, one plane there.

People really don't understand how easily flu viruses mutate and mutate quickly. We have a strain this year that is not prevented by the flu vaccine and not treatable with the normal anti-viral medications. So far it has not presented a problem. But we are in the middle of winter. And the middle of the flu season.

[raccoon]

3. Well, a deadly flu pandemic would help the unemployment. :sarcasm: nt

[Mojorabbit]

4. I would give anything to know

how many cases they really have.
For example the 2 yr old that died was counted but not her mother who died of flu like symptoms before the youngster was infected.
From the Chinese news
this is the tally from the newshounds on flu wiki.
Peng's mother (name unknown)--died
2 y/o (Peng)--recovered
Relative of Peng (name unknown)--status unknown
Relative of Peng (name unknown)--status unknown
19 y/o female (Huang Yanqing)--died
27 y/o female (name unknown)--died
16 y/o male (Wu)--died
HCW--exposed to 16 y/o (name unknown)--recovered
31 y/o female (Zhang)--died
29 y/o male (Zhou)-- critical condition
18 month old--critical condition
18 y/o (Liang)--died

Total (12) 6 deaths, 2 recovered, 2 critical, 2 unknown

There is another case in Egypt
Two hospitalized in Nepal waiting for test results
And Indonesia still having cases reported regularly.

I always hold my breath during the New Year's celebrations there when so many people are on the move to see family.

Only a fraction end up being reported to the WHO as confirmed. On edit the above cases are just from January of this year.

[eilen]

5. What is scary is the age ranges

the majority are young adults not the types you see that succumb to "flu" like the elderly, immunocompromised, the very young/infants. These are the ages of the people who first succumbed to the 1918 influenza epidemic.