As COVID Rages, China's Bird Flu Outbreak Kills 5 People

Five citizens have died after an outbreak of the dreaded H5N6 avian influenza hit China this year, with authorities failing to disclose that two other people died of bird flu in December 2021, Antony Ashkenaz reported for UK’s Daily Express.

Photo Insert: Authorities failed to disclose that two other people died of bird flu in December 2021.

H5N6, which causes severe illness in humans of all ages, has killed almost half of those infected with it, according to the WHO. So far, the Chinese government has not disclosed the outcome in most of the other cases of the bird flu.

Two people in mainland China were rushed to the hospital after testing positive for the H5N6 bird flu, as officials raised the number of cases detected so far this year to 19.

The first of these cases was a 28-year-old man from Puyang in Henan province, who developed symptoms on March 18 after exposure to live poultry. The man was hospitalized the next day and remains to be in critical condition.

The second case was detected in a 53-year-old woman from Zhenjiang City in Jiangsu Province, who fell ill on March 24 after visiting a live poultry market. The woman was admitted to a hospital two days later and is still in critical condition.

Bird flu is spread by close contact with an infected bird, whether dead or alive. This includes touching infected birds, their droppings, or beddings, and can also occur as a result of killing or preparing the infected poultry for cooking.

“Markets, where live birds are sold, can also be a source of bird flu. You can't catch bird flu through eating fully cooked poultry or eggs, even in areas with an outbreak of bird flu,” the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) advised.

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