Chinese woman dies in Shenzhen after catching highly contagious H5N6 strain of bird flu virus
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 05 January, 2016, 2:01pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 05 January, 2016, 2:01pm
Alice Yan
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A file photo of a health worker collecting a chicken at a wet market for culling, after the spread of another strain of bird flu. Photo: Felix Wong
The woman in Shenzhen, southern China, who caught the highly contagious H5N6 bird flu virus last week died a day after being admitted into hospital, the city’s health authority said.
The municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that the patient, whose condition was reported to the authority on December 29, died in the afternoon the day after, China News Service reported.
The woman is the first in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and the world’s fifth to be infected by the deadly strain of the bird flu virus. So far, six people have contracted the virus globally.
According to Shenzhen Evening News, the 26-year-old woman fell ill probably after contact with live poultry in a wet market. She might also have been infected near the market.
Ma Hanwu, vice-director of the Shenzhen Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said the short time between the patient being detected and her death suggested that she had not sought medical help in time, going to the hospital only when she felt seriously ill, China News Service reported.
Although the H5N6 virus is fatal and highly contagious, the authorities have not found any cases that have been spread through human contact.
The Shenzhen wet market has been disinfected and those who came into close contact with the patient are under medical observation.
