Beijing has confirmed this year's second human case of the H7N9 bird flu, the local health authority said Thursday.

The patient, a 73-year-old chicken farmer from Beijing's outer Huairou District, was in critical condition Thursday and was being treated at Ditan Hospital, the Beijing municipal health and family planning commission said in an updated press release at 9:30 p.m.

The man had raised, traded and slaughtered live poultry before he came down with flu symptoms and sought medication at a hospital near his home on January 30, it said.

His fever persisted and his condition became serious on Wednesday, when test results indicated he was highly suspected of H7N9 infection, the document said.

The municipal disease prevention and control center confirmed the infection on the same day.

Investigators found the man had slaughtered 20 chickens between January 24 and 28 with bare hands, and his hands were frostbitten with open wounds.

Altogether 35 people who were in close contact with the patient were put under medical observation, though no flu-like symptoms were detected as yet.

The capital city's first human H7N9 case was reported on January 24. The patient, a man, had reportedly bought pigeons and eaten them before testing positive for H7N9 bird flu.

He died of respiratory failure, multi-infections and blood poisoning on January 30.

(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2014)