GUIYANG, Feb. 11 -- The H7N9 bird flu strain has been found in an individual in southwest China's Guizhou Province, the provincial health authorities said on Wednesday.

The patient, 44, has had a high temperature since last Thursday. After failing to cure the fever using medicines at home, the patient went to a hospital in Guiyang city and was diagnosed with a lung infection.

According to Tuesday's lab testing result, the patient was infected with H7N9 avian influenza.

An investigation shows the patient, whose family members work culling poultry, had contact history with live poultry prior to the fever.

No abnormality has been found in close contacts of the patient.

Winter and spring are a high-incidence period for bird flu. Thousands of chickens have been culled in south China's Guangdong Province and Hong Kong this year. Several cities in Guangdong have taken measures to restrict the live poultry trade.

The number of H7N9 human cases in Guangdong has reached 43 this year with one more case reported on Tuesday. Shanghai, Fujian, Jiangxi and Zhejiang in east China have all reported human cases of H7N9 this winter.

H7N9 is a bird flu strain first reported to have infected humans in March 2013.