China reports case of H5N6 bird flu

China has confirmed one case of human infection with the H5N6 strain of bird flu in Sichuan province, state media said on Thursday.

The 55-year old male infected with the bird flu in Bazhong city had been sent to hospital and local authorities have culled poultry in the vicinity, said the state broadcaster CCTV.

Experts believe that the infection was an isolated case and "the risk of an invisible epidemic is extremely low", the media said.

In January, France and Germany culled over 660,000 birds to contain the spread of bird flu.

In February, Russian officials reported the H5N8 strain of bird flu had been passed on from birds to humans for the first time, leading to seven people becoming sick at a poultry plant.