Human Infection with a Novel Avian Influenza A(H5N6) Virus

To the Editor: Multiple reassortant strains of novel, highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5) viruses in clade 2.3.4.4 have recently emerged and spread in Asia, Europe, and North America, giving rise to multiple subtypes (H5N2, H5N5, H5N6, and H5N8).1–3 We report on a 59-year-old man in Guangzhou, China, with influenza A(H5N6) infection and associated illness. He had a 30-year history of smoking and had stopped smoking in January 2014. He had undergone surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer, the last chemotherapy dose having been administered in April 2014. During the weeks before illness onset, he regularly purchased and handled live . . .