--- title: "Man in China Hospitalized After Contracting Bird Flu" description: "A 55-year-old man from a city in the southwestern province of Sichaun experienced a fever and tested positive for the H5N6 avian flu." date: "2021-07-15" modified: "2021-07-15" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/man-china-hospitalized-bird-flu" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "avian flu" - "bird flu" - "china" - "swine flu" --- # Man in China Hospitalized After Contracting Bird Flu ![A 55-year-old man from a city in the southwestern province of Sichaun experienced a fever and tested positive for the H5N6 avian flu.]() *\Image: Futurism\* A man in China was hospitalized after contracting the H5N6 strain of avian flu, [*The New York Times* reports](), a reminder that SARS-CoV-2 isn't the only virus that can pose a threat to human health. The 55-year-old man, from a city in the southwestern province of Sichuan, experienced a fever and tested positive for the avian flu on July 6, [according to state-run news agency *China Global Television Network*](). The H5N6 virus is one of a number of flu virus subtypes that can be dangerous to humans. The virus was first identified eight years ago in Laos, according to the *Times,* and has since been detected in China and other neighboring countries. Fortunately, the risk the virus spreading significantly are "very low," according to state media. Local authorities have sterilized the area and activated an emergency response. There have been 32 confirmed cases of human infection with the H5N6 virus and 19 deaths since it was first identified, [according to the World Health Organization](). The news comes after Chinese officials [reported]() the first human infection of the H10N3 bird flu strain in early June. A man from the eastern city of Zhenjiang was hospitalized in late April after contracting the virus. As is the case with H5N6, the chance of a spread among humans is said to be extremely low. "This case is an occasional poultry-to-human cross-species transmission, and the risk of a large-scale spread is extremely low," China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said of the H10N3 infection in an [online statement]() last month. Flu viruses mutate significantly in nature, making them of particular interest to scientists. Last year, [researchers warned]() that a new strain of the H1N1 swine flu had the potential to be transmitted between humans. In February, health officials [alerted]() the WHO of a H5N8 bird flu strain that appeared in seven workers at a southern Russian poultry farm in December. "It is not transmitted from person to person," said Anna Popova, Russia’s public health chief, in a [televised statement]() at the time. "But only time will tell how soon future mutations will allow it to overcome this barrier." ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()