China has reported the country’s eighth case of bird flu this year, the most in a single month since 2003 when the deadly virus was first detected in humans.

 

The woman, 21, is a farmer in the central province of Hunan. She fell ill Jan. 23 after handling poultry that died from the H5N1 virus the Health Ministry said. Five of the eight cases of infection proved fatal. So far, 25 people have died from bird flu in China since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

 

Meanwhile, Lo Wing-Lok, a Hong Kong government adviser on infectious diseases, said the number of people infected with bird flu in China could be much higher than the authorities admitted.      

 

“There’s no doubt of an outbreak of bird flu in China, though the government hasn’t admitted it. Inefficient communication between the Hong Kong and mainland authorities is an ongoing problem. Hong Kong has not been well-informed by the mainland,” Lo said.

 

Three out of 12 dead birds found on Honk Kong’s Lantau Island tested positive for bird flu, which makes authorities believe that the virus is circulating widely among birds in southern Guangdong province, which borders the country.

 

Bird flu is hard for humans to get, but scientists fear that it might mutate into a form easily passed between people and turn into an epidemic. Since 2003, the disease has infected at least 404 people in 15 countries, killing more than 60 percent of them, according to data released by the World Health Organization.