Bird flu back in China

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported another death from bird flu in China.

The 19-year-old Chinese soldier's death is the first death to be reported since March and brings the country's death toll from the H5N1 strain of bird flu to 16.

According to the WHO, the soldier was stationed in the southern province of Fujian, and he died on Sunday after being hospitalised on May 14th with a fever and a cough.

To date China has had 25 laboratory-confirmed cases of bird flu; initial tests usually take up to 48 hours to confirm if someone has H5N1, while more detailed testing by government laboratories or those affiliated with the WHO can take a week or more.

To date worldwide the virus has killed 188 people out of 309 known cases since it re-emerged in Hong Kong in 2003 and millions of birds have either died or been culled.

While the deadly virus remains mainly a disease of birds, contracted by handling infected creatures, experts are concerned it could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, triggering a pandemic with the potential to kill millions.

Almost all the human cases reported so far can be traced to direct or indirect contact with infected birds.