Beijing  - Chinese authorities on Tuesday reported the death of an 18-year-old man in southern China from avian influenza, bringing the number of bird flu deaths in
2009 to five.

The man, identified as Liang, died on Monday of the H5N1 virus strain in a hospital in the southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the health ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

It is China's seventh case of avian influenza in humans this year, five of which resulted in death, the official Xinhua news agency said. A 2-year-old girl from the northern Shanxi province was believed to be out of danger, and a 29-year-old man in the south-western Guizhou province was still in critical condition. (dpa)