# 811
They are monitoring other soldiers and the PLA Central Committee is `highly concerned'. It sounds like it, since this is rather quick notification to the outside world, given China's past history.
China confirms new human case of bird flu
www.chinaview.cn
2007-05-26 13:38:49
BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Health has confirmed a new human case of bird flu, the ministry announced on its website Saturday.
A 19-year-old man surnamed Cheng, who is a soldier in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), is now receiving treatment at an army hospital, the ministry said.
The website did not indicate in which part of the country Cheng was stationed nor how he may have come in contact with the virus.
Calls to the ministry were unanswered at Saturday noon.
Cheng developed symptoms of fever, cough and pneumonia on May 9. He was sent to an army hospital on May 14 and has been hospitalized since then.
Tests by local Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 18 show that he had been infected with bird flu virus strain H5N1. The result was confirmed by Chinese and PLA CDCs on Wednesday.
The website did not indicate the status of Cheng's condition.
The ministry said leaders of the State Council and the Central Committee of PLA were "highly concerned" by the case.
They have ordered the army to cooperate with local health bureau to closely monitor those who have had close contact with the patient. So far, none of them have shown symptoms of the disease.
According to the website, China's Health Ministry has conveyed the information to the World Health Organization, health agencies in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and some countries.
