TAIPEI, Taiwan, April 24 (UPI) -- What may be the first case of H7N9 avian flu confirmed outside mainland China was revealed Wednesday by Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC issued a statement saying a 53-year-old Taiwanese man fell ill after returning from a work trip to China earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The man tested positive for the virus Wednesday and is currently quarantined in an intensive care unit.
"To our best knowledge, the man has come in contact with 139 people and so far none has exhibited any symptoms of the virus," CDC Director-General Chang Feng-yee said.
There have been 108 confirmed cases of H7N9 infection in China, including 22 deaths, the World Health Organization said.
Flu experts said the new virus exhibits signs of being more readily able to infect humans than another form of avian flu known as H5N1.
