Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
The first case of bird flu has reported in Tibet, prompting Chinese authorities to halt live poultry trade in the remote Himalayan region, state media reported on Saturday.
A 41-year-old migrant worker from neighbouring Sichuan province was diagnosed with the H7N9 infection on Monday.
The man was quarantined at Tibet's Third People's Hospital in Lhasa, the regional health and family planning commission said.
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He was involved in live poultry trade since arriving in Lhasa in February, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
His symptoms were reported to the regional disease prevention and control centre on April 2, and his condition was confirmed on April 3.
He is the first human infection of H7N9 bird flu in Tibet.
Following the diagnosis, live poultry trading has been suspended across the region.
All those who had been in close contact with the patient have been put under medical observation, the report said.
H7N9 is a bird flu strain first reported to have infected humans in China in March 2013.
Infections are most likely to strike in winter and spring seasons.
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