Local health authorities confirmed the third human case of H5N6 avian flu virus in Guangdong province on Thursday.

A statement released by the provincial health bureau said the latest case was diagnosed in a 25-year-old man from Longgang District in Shenzhen city. The patient was identified only by his surname Cai. Medical personnel report that he is in a severe condition. He is reported to be currently receiving treatment at a local health facility in Shenzhen.

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Cai is the second reported case in Shenzhen city. The first one was detected on Dec. 28 in a 26-year-old woman. She was given medical treatment but eventually died on Dec. 30. In a gene analysis sample obtained, Shenzhen Municipal Disease Control and Prevention Center confirmed that her infection came from getting in close contact with live poultry or a poultry market, according to Xinhua news.

Another case was also detected in a 40-year-old woman from Zhaoqing city. Zhaoqing Municipal Health and Family Planning Bureau reports she is in critical condition and is being treated in a local hospital. Zhaoqing officials are currently monitoring 64 people who have had close contact with the patient and five poultry market workers.

The local live poultry market in Zhaoqing was temporarily closed for a week following the recent bird flu cases. The birds were slaughtered and the area was disinfected to prevent possible contamination before it reopened.

Experts highly discourage people from coming into close contact with live poultry, farms, slaughter houses and the like to avoid contracting the virus. Common manifestations of the virus include flu-like symptoms, eye infection or conjunctivitis and severe respiratory illness.

Guangdong has listed a total of four human cases of H5N6 since December 2014. The world's first human case was found in May 2014 in Sichuan Province, China. 

TagsH5N6 virus, Zhaoqing city