The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed a new human case of bird flu, the ministry announced in its website Saturday.

A 19-year-old man surnamed Cheng, who is a soldier in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), is now receiving treatment at an army hospital, the ministry said.

The website did not indicate in which part of the country Cheng was stationed nor how he may have come in contact with the virus.

Cheng developed symptoms of fever, cough and pneumonia on May 9. He was sent to an army hospital on May 14 and has been hospitalized since then.

Tests by local Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 18 show that he had been infected with bird flu virus strain H5N1. The result was confirmed by Chinese and PLA CDCs on Wednesday.

The website did not indicate the status of Cheng's condition.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2007)