China Confirms First Bird Flu Case Was In 2003

China had previously stated that the first case of bird flu in China was in 2005.

(AFP)The ministry began the tests after eight Chinese scientists published a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine in June, claiming the man became ill on November 25, 2003, from bird flu and later died.

China had previously said its first human bird flu case was in November 2005.

The new confirmed case brings the official Chinese death toll from bird flu to 13, out of a total of 20 reported human cases. It could change the timeframe for the current outbreak of the disease regionally.

SARS and the bird flu, I don't think China will be on any of my vacation plans in the near future!