China reported its 18th case of human bird flu Thursday, an eight-year-old girl in the southwestern province of Sichuan who is being treated at hospital.
The girl surnamed Sun, from Suining city, came down with fever and pneumonia-like symptoms on April 16, the Ministry of Health said on its website.
Test results that came back Thursday confirmed she was infected with the potentially deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the ministry said.
There was no information on the girl’s condition. The ministry said poultry belonging to her family had also died but it was unclear whether they had bird flu.
Twelve of the previous human cases reported by China have died, including a migrant worker in the central city of Wuhan last week. Two others died in March.
Authorities have placed everyone who has been in close contact with Sun under medical observation but none has shown any symptoms, the ministry said.
The latest cases have come despite no reports of fresh outbreaks among poultry since late February — a trend which has worried World Health Organization officials.
The lack of warning from poultry is troublesome for China as it is not able to detect outbreaks before humans are infected.
China’s chief veterinary officer said earlier this month there was now little risk of a massive bird flu outbreak this year due to intensified poultry vaccination efforts.
WHO experts, however, have expressed concern that vaccinated poultry could be masking outbreaks by not showing any symptoms while still spreading the virus.
China’s Agriculture Minister Du Qinglin warned in February of possible “widespread outbreaks” of bird flu during the spring bird migratory season.
The H5N1 strain has killed more than 100 people in nine countries since 2003 and has spread to Europe, the Middle East and Africa in recent months.
Scientists fear a global pandemic if the virus mutates and becomes easily transmissible between humans.
Source: Agence France-Presse
