Hong Kong confirms third bird flu case in three weeks

HONG KONG - Hong Kong has confirmed its third case of human bird flu in three weeks, a 62-year-old man who was in critical condition, after a second patient was confirmed to have contracted the same H7N9 strain of the disease last Friday.

The first patient died from H7N9 five days earlier.

The latest case, confirmed on Thursday, comes as fears grow over the spread of bird flu in South Korea, Japan and mainland China.

A total of 19 people have been infected with bird flu in China so far this winter, all with the H7N9 strain, killing at least three.

Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health said a 62-year-old man, who travelled to Guangzhou in southern China in mid-December, was in hospital in nearby Dongguan on Monday and Tuesday.

He discharged himself and was admitted to hospital in Hong Kong on Wednesday in critical condition, it said.