Human bird flu case in Indian ocean island

Authorities in France's La Reunion island in the Indian Ocean said today they had detected a suspected case of bird flu in a …

Authorities in France's La Reunion island in the Indian Ocean said today they had detected a suspected case of bird flu in a tourist who had recently returned from Thailand.

"It concerns a suspected case of bird flu although the symptoms are inconclusive," the island's administration said in a statement.

It said two tests on the 43-year-old man had shown different results for the presence of the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

One had been uncertain but another had been positive, it added. He was hospitalised at the beginning of the week, showing signs of coughing and weakness.