At the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Health, WHO is participating in a joint mission to Anhui Province to investigate circumstances surrounding the recent detection of two human cases of H5N1 infection in that province. Both cases, which were confirmed by laboratory tests earlier this month, occurred in female farmers aged 24 and 35 years. Both cases were fatal.
The team will be gathering information about the sources of exposure in these two cases and will also assess the effectiveness of public health measures introduced in the areas. The two cases lived some distance apart; no link between the two cases is thought to exist.
China has recently experienced a recurrence of outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in poultry. Beginning in mid-October of this year, officials have reported 25 fresh outbreaks in poultry in nine provinces. To date, the country has reported 3 laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection, of which two were fatal.
The Ministry of Health in China has confirmed a further case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case is a 10-year-old girl from the southern province of Guangxi. She developed symptoms of fever and cough on 23 November, followed by pneumonia. She remains in hospital, where she is receiving care.
Local health authorities have launched investigations to determine the source of exposure and search for further cases in the patient’s village of residence and surrounding areas. To date, monitoring of health status has revealed no additional cases of influenza-like illness. The Chinese Ministry of Health is supporting this investigation with an expert team.
This is the fourth human case reported in China. Of these, two were fatal.