Animal viruses are being scrutinized because of bird flu fears. Health officials fear bird flu, which has killed at least 57 people in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia since 2003, may spark the next human flu pandemic, killing millions, by evolving into a form that is easily transmissible among humans.

Twenty people were hospitalized with the disease from June 24 to July 21 in the city of Ziyang in southern Sichuan province, the Hong Kong government said Saturday, citing information from Sichuan officials.

Nine died, one was discharged and 10 are still in the hospital, including six in critical condition, according to the Hong Kong government.

Poisoning-Related Shock Syndrome

World Health Organization spokesman Bob Dietz said the cases may be linked to farmers who have slaughtered either pigs or sheep. The Chinese government has dispatched a team to investigate. For now, the disease doesn't appear to be spreading, Dietz said.

The unidentified son of one of the victims said in footage aired on Hong Kong television station Cable TV that his father fell ill after slaughtering and eating part of a sick pig.

The pigs in question were infected with streptococcus bacteria, a common pathogen in humans and domestic animals. The humans suffered from poisoning-related shock syndrome and were infected acutely, an unidentified worker at the hospital treating the patients said in a phone interview played on Cable TV.

Bird Flu Fears

The Chinese news Web site Sina.com reported Saturday the people infected had symptoms like fever, lack of energy, vomiting, bleeding from blood vessels beneath the skin, and shock.

Hong Kong's Hospital Authority has asked its hospitals to notify health authorities of any patients with similar symptoms, spokesman Raymond Lo said Sunday.

The territory is wary of diseases spreading here from China since severe acute respiratory syndrome was brought to the territory by a mainlander in 2003. The disease eventually killed 299 people in Hong Kong.

Animal viruses are also being scrutinized because of bird flu fears. Health officials fear bird flu, which has killed at least 57 people in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia since 2003, may spark the next human flu pandemic, killing millions, by evolving into a form that is easily transmissible among humans.