A 21-year-old man in central China's Hubei Province has been infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus and is in a critical condition, the Ministry of Health reported yesterday.

The man, surnamed Lai, is a migrant worker in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province. He showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on April 1 and was hospitalized, said a report released by the ministry.

The case brings the total number of human cases of bird flu in China to 17 which have resulted in 11 deaths.

The patient's infection has been confirmed as bird flu in accordance with Chinese official standards as well as those of the World Health Organization (WHO), the ministry said.

Those who have had close contact with Lai have been put under medical observation by local health authorities. So far no bird flu symptoms have been reported.

The ministry has been in contact the WHO and the new case, officials in several countries as well as officials in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

(China Daily April 19, 2006)