The Ministry of Health of China has stated that three cases in Hunan Province, currently diagnosed as "pneumonia of an unknown cause," cannot be excluded as human cases of H5N1 avian influenza. China has invited the World Health Organization to support the ongoing investigation. A dialogue is underway between China and WHO to determine what this assistance should be.

The Ministry of Health of China made the announcement at its website on November 6, stressing that the Hunan investigation was continuing, and that more tests and diagnostics were required to help determine the cause of infection in these three cases.

The cases are:
– A 12-year-old girl, who died on October 17;
– Her 9-year-old brother who fell ill around that time, but is said to be recovering;
– A 36-year-old schoolteacher from a separate locality who was admitted to hospital on October 24, and whose condition is said to be improving.

All three cases were in and around Xiangtan County in Hunan Province.

Authorities have reported that the siblings' home village had an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in poultry, and both the children had close contact with dead poultry. In the case of the schoolteacher, he is said to have handled a dead chicken for cooking, disembowelling the bird himself in his kitchen.

Initial tests on all three patients were negative for H5N1 avian influenza. But both the Ministry of Health and WHO emphasized that further testing was necessary across a suitable length of time in the cases of the boy and the
schoolteacher. The girl was cremated soon after her death, as is often the custom in rural areas, and authorities say samples collected before she passed away were minimal, a fact that could make it difficult to determine the cause of her infection. However, in the other two cases further samples are being collected for testing. Samples drawn in the patients' convalescent phase will be particularly critical to help determine if they were infected with H5N1.

The State Council, China's top Government body, has launched a National Command Centre for the Prevention of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, led by Premier Wen Jiabao himself. This body has charged key ministries to collaborate even more closely. China has also announced a fund of 2 billion yuan to help finance the battle against avian influenza.