According to officials in Hong Kong, tests have shown that a man who died in hospital earlier this month had the pig-borne disease Streptococcus suis.

The government statement says the man was the 12th person from Hong Kong to be infected with the disease this year.

To date the disease has killed approximately 40 people in mainland China.

Apparently the 43-year-old, who had no recent travel history, was admitted to hospital on Oct. 13, and died on the same day.

His family was then placed under medical observation, but no further details are available.

The death comes just as Hong Kong and China are on a high alert for the deadly bird flu virus, which experts fear could mutate leading to a pandemic that could kill millions of people.

Most of the more than 200 people reported to have caught the disease on the mainland became sick after slaughtering, handling or eating infected pigs.

It is feared that this new case could re-ignite a food scare that in August prompted the Hong Kong government to temporarily ban imports of pork from the Chinese province of Sichuan.

Much of Hong Kong’s food comes from the mainland.