[Alexeryy]

Hong Kong confirms first human case of bird flu since 2003

Agence France-Presse
November 18, 2010 10:02 PM



Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of bird flu in humans in seven years, with a 59-year-old woman in a serious condition after a visit to mainland China, health officials told AFP Thursday. Photograph by: Photos.com, canada.com

HONG KONG - Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of bird flu in humans in seven years, with a 59-year-old woman in a serious condition after a visit to mainland China, health officials told AFP Thursday. The government has raised Hong Kong's bird flu alert to "serious", meaning there is a "high risk" of contracting the potentially fatal disease, a spokesman for the Department of Health told AFP. Health officials say the 59-year-old woman tested positive for Influenza A (H5), a variant of avian influenza, after she was first diagnosed with pneumonia. She is now listed in a serious condition in hospital.

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