Bird flu victim had no contact with dead birds

A 24-year-old man with the H5N1 flu virus, also known as avian flu, died in eastern Jiangsu province on Sunday, the province's health bureau reported. The death was the first case of a human who had not had contact with dead birds contracting the virus, according to Xinhua Net (in Chinese). A total of 69 people close to the man were quarantined for strict medical observation. The death was the 17th bird flu fatality in China to date and the first since a soldier died in June of this year.