A man from the southwest province of Sichuan has become the first human case and fatality of the avian influenza A(H5N6) virus  according to health authorities.

Image/CIA
Image/CIA

The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) said today the virus was detected in a respiratory sample from the now deceased 49-year-old man.

“All novel influenza A infections (including H5N6) are notifiable diseases in Hong Kong,” a spokesman for the DH said. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page.

In Taiwan, health authorities issued a travel warning for Sichuan Province in China. “People traveling to Sichuan should take precautions for their health and refrain from coming into contact with fowl, either live or dead,” said Chuang Jen-hsiang, deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

H5N6 is a low-pathogenic bird flu virus found between 1984 and 2013 in Germany, Sweden and the United States.