Fifth H7N9 Bird Flu Case Reported in Hong Kong

Wednesday in Hong Kong, a new case of the H7N9 avian flu was reported-making it the fifth case to be discovered in the city.

According to the AFP, a 65-year-old man with underlying medical condition had been hospitalized Tuesday after developing a cough and fever. The health department said as of late Wednesday that he was in critical condition, and unfortunately, tested positive for H7N9.

According to the news organization, prior investigations have shown that the man traveled to a nearby Chinese province of Guangdong from January 24 to February 9. It was confirmed that he had also purchased a slaughtered chicken near his village on January 29.

According to The Global Times, there have been more than 120 human H7N9 cases reported in China as of this year, accompanied by 32 deaths. Many health officials believe that poultry trade is considered to be a primary source of human infection for most virus cases.

More cases have been reported earlier in the year-with an 80-year-old man dying from the H7N9 flu in December and a 65-year-old in January.

At this time, Hong Kong is particularly on alert due to the spread of the viruses following an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that hit the city in 2003 and killed 299 people.