H5N1 kills Chinese bus driver, officials trying to find out how he got infected

Just a week after Hong Kong officials culled more than 17,000 poultry, a bus driver in China has died from H5N1 (bird flu).

The killing of tens of thousands of birds in Hong Kong was prompted after just one chicken died from H5N1. Now Hong Kong officials say a second bird has died from H5N1.

During that same week, a bus driver in China became ill and was put in the hospital for possible pneumonia.  Tests showed he had H5N1.  The 39 year old man died, December 31, 2011.

Officials in China are concerned because the man had no contact with birds.  No one else, who’s been in contact with the man, has developed symptoms.  The World Health Organization says H5N1 has a 60% mortality rate among humans (and they’re not talking about the genetically modified H5N1 that your taxpayer dollars were spent on developing).