Beijing and Hong Kong on "bird influenza" alert:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Chinese health authorities are on a state of alert after two laboratory tests have confirmed at least one case of infection with the avian influenza virus A(H5N1) in Hong Kong, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported yesterday (February 19 2003). Further tests are underway to assess whether the deaths of relatives of this one patient are related. Investigations so far point at China's Fujian province as the source of the infection. A single human case was reported in Hong Kong in August 1997, leading to the establishment of Hong Kong's influenza surveillance programme, part of the WHO's global network.