The Ministry of Health on Thursday night confirmed another human case of bird flu, the sixth to date.

The patient, surnamed Guo, is a 35-year-old peddler from Suichuan County, Jiangxi Province, east China. The man, who fell ill on December 4 with fever and pneumonia symptoms, is being treated at a local hospital, the ministry said.

The China Disease Prevention and Control Center tested Guo's blood and fluid samples and found he was infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has also confirmed a bird flu outbreak in the village where Guo lives.

Local health authorities have taken measures to check the spread of the virus and the people who had close contact with the patient are under strict medical observation, with no abnormal clinical symptoms found as yet.

The Ministry of Health has informed the World Health Organization, and the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan authorities.

Earlier Thursday night, the MOA said a new bird flu case had been confirmed in Guo's village following the death of 1,640 ducks raised by a fellow villager.

The provincial veterinarian department suspected the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic bird flu as the cause of death, and a state avian flu lab confirmed its suspicion on Thursday, the ministry said.

Veterinarian authorities in Jiangxi culled 15,000 poultry within three kilometers of the affected area as soon as the outbreak was reported.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2005)