No evidence for human-to-human H5N6 infection: experts

Experts have found there is currently no evidence showing the H5N6 avian influenza virus (AIV) is capable of human-to-human infection, said an official at the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) on Friday.

Xiong Huang, deputy head of the publicity department of NHFPC, made the announcement based on growing concerns about avian flu in China.

Since September 2015, four isolated H5N6 cases have been reported across the country, with three in south China's Guangdong and one in neighboring Jiangxi Province, according to Xiong.

Despite no human-to-human infections of H5N6 AIV so far, the channels for the virus to spread from bird to human have yet to be eliminated, as people are more likely to be infected with respiratory diseases in winter, while cage-free poultry farming is still common in the country, Xiong said.

The NHFPC has already taken measures to prevent and control the disease, and countermeasures are being taken in the provinces hit by H5N6, Xiong added.

The world's first human H5N6 infection was reported in May 2014 in southwest China's Sichuan Province. A 26-year-old woman with the disease died in Shenzhen City seven months after diagnosis. Endi