The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that a new confirmed human case of H5N1 infection was reported in Hong Kong, China on Nov. 17.

The case, involving a 59-year-old female, was reported by Hong Kong's health authority to the WHO.

According to the WHO, the woman had onset of symptoms on Nov. 2, and was hospitalized on Nov. 14. Diagnosed to have pneumonia, she is said to be in critical condition now.

The WHO said the infected woman had no history of contact with live birds days before showing symptoms, but she had traveled to Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou before hospitalized, and therefore close contacts to her are under medical surveillance, with no one showing symptoms to date.

As a result, the WHO believes it might be a sporadic case of human influenza A (H5N1) infection without further spread.

WHO statistics show that so far a total of 21 human cases of influenza A (H5N1) infection were recorded in Hong Kong, including 18 cases in 1997, two cases in 2003 and the current case.

(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2010)