Share - WeChat

XI'AN - A man has been confirmed infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus, following the infection of his wife in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, local health authorities said Wednesday.` The man surnamed Guo, 67, is a farmer in neighboring Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He tested positive for the virus Tuesday in Yulin city, after days of high fever and coughing at his hometown nearby, the city's disease control center said in a statement.

It is the second H7N9 human infection case in the city, the first being his 62-year-old wife, surnamed Yang, who was confirmed with the virus on May 31.

Both had been exposed themselves to dead poultry before showing symptoms, the statement said.

The couple are being treated in a local hospital in Yulin.

H7N9 is a bird flu strain first reported to have infected humans in China in March 2013.

The World Health Organization has said there is no evidence H7N9 is passed from person to person.