China has reported six new cases of deadly H5N6 avian flu – three of them in Guangdong – but the virus has not mutated to a human-to-human transmission, according to local officials.
H5N6 attacked lung tissue rapidly and was likely to be deadlier than the H7N9 strain detected in previous years, Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday.
All three of the H5N6 patients in Guangdong had contact with live poultry or had been to live poultry markets, the report said.
A 40-year-old woman from Zhaoqing (肇慶) is the latest case.
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She was pregnant when she was diagnosed with the virus on January 1. Doctors performed a caesarean section and the patient remained in severe condition in a hospital intensive care unit.
A 26-year-old woman from Shenzhen’s Baoan district was diagnosed with the virus on December 29, three days after her symptoms emerged. She had bought a live duck from a local market and died on December 30.