China reports H1N1 flu death

A man in central China's Hunan Province has died from a H1N1 flu strain, local health authorities said Wednesday night.

The man, surnamed Zhang and aged 50, died Monday after emergency treatment for more than a week failed in Yueyang, said a spokesman with the city's center for disease control and prevention.

Zhang, a native of Fujian Province, ran a business in Yueyang with his family and had travelled to Hunan's neighboring province of Hubei before he fell ill, the spokesman said.

Zhang was admitted to the No. 2 People's Hospital in Yueyang on the morning of March 26 with symptoms of a fever and cough. He was transferred to an intensive care unit after suffering from breathing difficulties.

A test by the city's center for disease control and prevention found Zhang was positive for a new strain of the H1N1 flu on March 27. He died on April 1.

Medical staff involved in the emergency treatment did not contract the H1N1 virus and family members of the deceased are still under medical observation in quarantine.

The new H1N1 flu, an acute respiratory illness, is caused by a new strain confirmed late last year by health authorities and can spread among humans. It has similar symptoms with the H1N1 flu.

Separately, China has reported nine cases of H7N9 bird flu since Sunday, the first known infections among humans of the lesser known strain. Of the nine, three have died and the other six are in hospital in critical condition.