On Sunday, the Chinese Ministry of Health issued a public report that points out that there is a new case of human bird flu in the country, the sixth in this year only.

A spokesperson at the ministry stated that a 29-year-old man from the Chinese province of Guizhou has been infected with bird flu through the H5N1 virus, the same that ravaged the country a few years ago. The full report about the health condition of the man, whose family name is Zhou, was published on the ministry’s official web page and reveals that he has started to feel sick on January 15.

The bird flu case of the 29-year-old-man is the sixth this year. The disease killed four people during the first few weeks of 2009 and health specialists expect the virus will strike back, if the authorities don’t take the necessary measures.

The experts at the ministry briefly reported the case of Zhou, as they pointed out in a statement that the man had previously been exposed to “live poultry markets,” according to recent epidemiological examinations. It has also been reported that no other people who were in contact with the man showed specific symptoms of bird flu.

The Chinese authorities believe that recent weather conditions facilitated the expansion of the virus through the country, as low temperatures and high humidity environments have been proved to be the virus’ favorite.

Scientists fear that the H5N1 might suffer mutations that would turn it into a human-to-human transmissible virus and hence, leading to a worldwide epidemic.