New Delhi, Feb.19 : China's Ministry of Health has confirmed a human case of H5N1 bird flu in the central Hunan Province.

A 22-year-old man surnamed Li in Jianghua County, Yongzhou City, suffered fever and headache on January 16 and was hospitalised on January 22. His symptoms worsened despite treatment, Xinhua reports.

Li died at 5 p.m. on January 24 after all rescue measures had failed.

His specimens tested positive for the bird flu virus strain H5N1, said the country's Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The report didn't identify how he might have contracted the disease.

The virus is most commonly passed from sick poultry to humans who have close contact with infected birds.

Statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO) show there have been 18 human deaths from the H5N1 strain, and 28 confirmed cases of infection in China since 2003.

The case has been reported to the WHO, authorities in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and some foreign governments.

ANI