Food markets with live birds as source of avian influenza.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) H5N1 infected 202 persons worldwide and killed 113 as of April 30, 2006 (1). Most patients were exposed to ill or dead birds or were involved in the slaughter or preparation of birds for human food (2). However, of 19 patients with confirmed cases in the People's Republic of China, 5 had no history of direct contact with ill or diseased birds and resided in urban or periurban areas that did not have farmed birds. We studied an infected patient from Guangzhou who did not report contact with birds.