China: Woman, 19, Confirmed H5N1 Death - Contacts Monitored

[Gert van der Hoek]

China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

BEIJING, 6 January 2009 (AFP) - Tuesday 06 January 2009 - 8:39 -

A Chinese woman has died in Beijing apparently affected by bird flu, announced Tuesday the agency China News, quoting the municipal health authorities.


Chine: décès d'une femme apparemment atteinte de la grippe aviaire

PEKIN, 6 jan 2009 (AFP) - mardi 06 janvier 2009 - 8h39 - Une Chinoise est décédée à Pékin apparemment atteinte de la grippe aviaire, a annoncé mardi l'agence Chine Nouvelle, citant les autorités sanitaires municipales.

http://www.izf.net/upload/AFP/franc...te/AFP.php?content=090106073958.wpu8171j.html

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

China says "suspected" bird flu patient dies -Xinhua

06 Jan 2009

Source: Reuters

BEIJING, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A woman suspected of carrying bird flu has died in Beijing, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the local health bureau.

The woman died on Monday. Her age was not known, Xinhua said. There were no other details.

A five-year-old Vietnamese girl who ate poultry has been infected with bird flu, the first human case reported in the country this year, Vietnam's state-run television said on Tuesday.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T12879.htm

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Updated map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=e...413496,115.400391&spn=10.903156,22.983398&z=5

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

China says "suspected" bird flu patient dies
06 Jan 2009 08:12:49 GMT
<!-- 06 Jan 2009 08:12:49 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove -->Source: Reuters

<!-- AN5.0 article title end --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="/bin/js/article.js"></SCRIPT></SPAN><INPUT id=CurrentSize type=hidden value=13 name=CurrentSize> <!-- China says "suspected" bird flu patient dies --><!-- Reuters -->(Adds details, quote)
BEIJING, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A woman suspected of being infected with bird flu has died in Beijing, the local health bureau said on Tuesday of what would be the first bird flu death in the country in almost a year.
The woman died on Monday. Her age was not known, Xinhua news agency said. There were no other details.
"The report is true, but there are no details so far," said Zhang Jianshu, a spokesman with the publicity office of the Beijing Health Bureau, told Reuters by telephone.
The World Health Organisation's China office was not immediately able to provide comment.
Since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003, it has killed more than 200 people in a dozen countries, according to the World Health Organisation.
Experts fear the constantly mutating virus could change into a form easily transmitted from person to person and potentially kill millions of people worldwide.
The last known reported fatality in China was in February last year when a 44-year-old woman died in the southern province of Guangdong.
A five-year-old has been infected with bird flu in neighbouring Vietnam, the first human case reported in the country this year, Vietnam's state-run television said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Ian Ransom and Yu Le; Editing by Nick Macfie)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK18521.htm
<!-- news ## for search indexer, do not remove -->

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Beijing Reports Fatality in Suspected Bird-Flu Case (Update1)
Email | Print | A A A


By Stephanie Wong
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Beijing, one of the most severely infected cities during the 2003 global SARS epidemic, has reported a possible death from avian flu, as an unusually cold winter saps resistance in the Chinese capital.
Huang Yanqing, suspected to have been infected with bird flu, died at 7:20 a.m. yesterday in a Beijing hospital, the state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported today on its English service, citing the local health bureau. The news service didn?t provide further details.
Health and agricultural authorities culled 377,000 poultry in eastern China?s Jiangsu province in December after finding the H5N1 strain of the bird-flu virus in chickens in that area. Areas where the poultry were raised were disinfected, other birds were placed under quarantine, and the transport of poultry was restricted.
Contact with migratory birds carrying the virus is one possible cause of infection in poultry. The announcement comes after dead chickens in Hong Kong tested positive for the H5N1 strain last month and India culled more than 250,000 birds in its northeast to contain an outbreak.
At least 387 people in 15 countries have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian-flu virus since 2003, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization. Almost two of every three cases were fatal.
China has had 30 bird-flu cases in humans and 20 deaths since December 2003, according to WHO. A 24 year-old-man who died in Beijing in 2003 was initially thought to have died from the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Subsequent laboratory tests confirmed he had died from the avian flu, making him the first fatality in the Chinese capital from the disease.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stephanie Wong in Shanghai at swong139@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 6, 2009 03:14 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601089&sid=a0ckV4jfX32E&refer=china

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

"Nurse had fever"

Suspected bird flu patient in Beijing dies

Last Updated(Beijing Time):2009-01-06 16:27

A suspected bird flu patient in Beijing has died, local health bureau said Tuesday.

The woman named Huang Yanqing died at 7:20 a.m. Monday. Her age is not known yet.

Huang, a native of east China's Fujian Province, bought nine ducks at a market in Beijing's neighboring Hebei Province on Dec. 19 along with two town fellows. She cleaned the ducks' internal organs, according to the Beijing Health Bureau.

The bureau said 116 people had been in close contact with the patient. One nurse who had been in contact with the patient suffered from fever. The nurse has recovered.

Beijing has reported the case to the World Health Organization, and health authorities of China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

An emergency meeting was convened in Beijing on Monday evening to handle the bird flu case.

http://en.ce.cn/Life/health/200901/06/t20090106_17886475.shtml

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Suspected bird flu patient in Beijing dies [/FONT]<HR>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
BEIJING, Jan. 6 (PNA/Xinhua) -- A suspected bird flu patient in Beijing has died, local health bureau said Tuesday.
The woman named Huang Yanqing died at 7:20 a.m. Monday. Her age is not known yet.
Huang, a native of east China's Fujian Province, bought nine ducks at a market in Beijing's neighboring Hebei Province on Dec. 19 along with two town fellows. She cleaned the ducks' internal organs, according to the Beijing Health Bureau.
She gave three ducks to her father, uncle and a friend and kept the other six ducks.
The bureau said 116 people, including the patient's 14 family members and neighbor and 102 medical workers, had been in close contact with the patient. One nurse who had been in contact with the patient suffered from fever. The nurse has recovered.
Beijing has reported the case to the World Health Organization, and health authorities of China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.
An emergency meeting was convened in Beijing on Monday evening to handle the bird flu case.
Beijing has started bird flu prevention and control measures, including disinfecting and isolating the patient's house and wards she had used and closely monitoring further cases by medical institutions at all levels. Last month, a baby girl was diagnosed as having the H9N2 bird flu strain and received treatment in a Hong Kong hospital. (PNA/Xinhua)
DCT/mec

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&nid=4&rid=179278[/FONT]

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

China says suspected bird flu patient dies

The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
BEIJING: Chinese state media has reported that a suspected bird flu patient has died in a Beijing hospital.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday that Huang Yanqing died Monday. It did not give her age.
It said Huang bought and cleaned nine ducks on Dec. 19 at a market in Hebei province, which borders Beijing.
Xinhua quoted the Beijing Health Bureau as saying 116 people had been in close contact with Huang. One nurse suffered from fever but has since recovered, it said.
Beijing reported the case to the World Health Organization, which had no immediate reply Tuesday.

http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=19116997

 

[Treyfish]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Beijing suspected human bird flu deaths

2009-01-06​

<STYLE id=_Custom_Style_>.h1 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 22pt; MARGIN: 17pt 0cm 16.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 240%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h2 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h3 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}DIV.union { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}DIV.union TD { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}.h1 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 22pt; MARGIN: 17pt 0cm 16.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 240%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h2 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h3 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.union { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}.union TD { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}</STYLE>Beijing on the 5th found a case of pneumonia cases of unknown causes, after all rescue measures proved ineffectual, at 7:20 the day of death.

北京市已启动《人感染高致病性禽流感应急预案》，全面部署，加强防控工作。​

Beijing has started "of human infection of highly pathogenic avian influenza contingency plans," a comprehensive plan to strengthen the prevention and control work.

北京市卫生局透露，不明原因肺炎患者黄燕清，为福建省莆田市人。​

Beijing Municipal Health Bureau revealed that patients with unexplained pneumonia Huang Yan-qing, Putian City, Fujian Province who for.

2008年2月来京后，住北京市朝阳区三间房乡东村。​

In February 2008 to Beijing after living in Beijing Chaoyang District Rural Housing Estate 3.

12月19日，患者同乡陈建皇和蔡某在河北省燕郊秦宫市场活禽摊位购买了活鸭9只，现场宰杀后带回，患者清洗过鸭内脏。​

December 19, and Chae陈建皇fellow patients in Hebei Province秦宫Yanjiao market live poultry stall to buy a nine ducks, slaughtered at the scene after the back, the patient cleaned duck offal.

北京市卫生局现已查明，密切接触者116人，其中家庭成员和邻居14人，管庄医院医务人员11人，潞河医院医务人员78人，北京胸科医院13人。​

Beijing Municipal Health Bureau has now identified 116 close contacts, including family members and neighbors, 14, possession Zhuang hospital medical staff, 11 were潞河hospital medical staff 78 people, Beijing Chest Hospital 13.

除管庄医院1名护士出现过发热外（现已恢复正常），其余人员均未见异常临床表现。​

In addition to possession of Zhuang hospital nurses had a fever (which is now back to normal), the rest were no abnormal clinical manifestations.

北京市卫生局已于5日下午向北京市农业局通报了一例疑似人禽流感病例诊断和防控情况，并将向世界卫生组织和香港、澳门地区通报有关信息，当日20时还召开了北京市人禽流感防控工作部署会。​

Beijing Health Bureau in the afternoon on the 5th to the Beijing Municipal Agriculture Bureau reported a case of suspected human bird flu diagnosis and prevention and control of the situation, and to the World Health Organization and the Hong Kong and Macao informed of relevant information, 20, also held the same day in Beijing City bird flu prevention and control work will be deployed.

据了银，北京市已启动《人感染高致病性禽流感应急预案》，全面部署，有郊应对，做好现场流行病学调查和呼吸道传染病症状主动监测预警工作，实施密切接触者的分类管理；做好对患者住所、病房终末消毒和疫区（点）的消毒隔离工作；加强对医护人员呼吸道传染病诊断、报告和防护知识培训；各级医疗卫生机构实行人禽流感病例零报告制度；同时加强院内感染管理控制和生物实验室安全监督检查工作。​

According to the silver, Beijing has started "of human infection of highly pathogenic avian influenza contingency plans," the full deployment, there are areas to deal with and do a good job at the scene epidemiological investigation of infectious diseases and respiratory symptoms of pro-active monitoring of early warning work in close contact with the implementation of the Category management; do a good job on the patients home, ward terminal disinfection and epidemic (point) is the work of disinfection and isolation; to strengthen the diagnosis of respiratory diseases health care workers, reporting and protection training; medical and health institutions at all levels were zero cases of bird flu reporting system; At the same time to strengthen the management of nosocomial infection control and laboratory bio-safety supervision and inspection work. :tiphat:http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl...2.html&usg=ALkJrhiarFbBVMSVcC4ji26bv52j6aOm_w

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Beijing Reports Fatality in Suspected Bird-Flu Case (Update2) - Bloomberg.com: News

Beijing Reports Fatality in Suspected Bird-Flu Case (Update2)

By Stephanie Wong Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) --

Beijing, the most severely infected city during the 2003 global SARS epidemic, has reported a possible death from avian flu, as an unusually cold winter saps resistance in the Chinese capital.


Huang Yanqing, who died at 7:20 a.m. yesterday in a Beijing hospital, handled the innards of nine ducks bought from a market in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, state-owned Xinhua News Agency said today in its English service.

She had contact with 116 people, Xinhua said, citing the local health bureau.

Health and agricultural authorities culled 377,000 poultry in eastern China’s Jiangsu province in December after finding the H5N1 strain of the bird-flu virus in chickens. Areas where the poultry were raised had been disinfected, other birds were placed under quarantine, while the transport of poultry was restricted.

Contact with migratory birds carrying the virus is one possible cause of infection in poultry. Dead chickens in Hong Kong tested positive for the H5N1 strain last month and India culled more than 250,000 birds in its northeastern region to contain an outbreak.

At least 387 people in 15 countries have been infected with the H5N1 strain of the avian-flu virus since 2003, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization. Almost two of every three cases were fatal.

China’s Bird Flu
China has had 30 bird-flu cases in humans and 20 deaths since December 2003, according to WHO. A 24 year-old-man who died in Beijing in 2003 was initially thought to have died from the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Subsequent laboratory tests confirmed he had died from the avian flu, making him the first fatality in the Chinese capital from the disease.

A nurse recovered from the fever she’d developed after coming in contact with the deceased woman, the news service reported.

China’s government was criticized by the WHO for its slow response to the 2003 SARS outbreak, which infected 8,098 people globally, killing 774, almost a third of the cases in the Chinese capital. President Hu Jintao fired health minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing mayor Meng Xuenong in 2003, after admitting that the city had covered up the number of SARS cases in the city.

Beijing’s health authorities have already reported the latest suspected bird-flu fatality to the WHO, Xinhua said today.

An emergency meeting was convened yesterday in Beijing to handle the bird-flu case, Xinhua said without elaborating.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Stephanie Wong in Shanghai at swong139@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 6, 2009 03:39 EST​

<cite cite="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aiNs7NH9TlGw">Bloomberg.com: News</cite>

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Reuters AlertNet - HK confirms dead Beijing woman had H5N1 bird flu

HK confirms dead Beijing woman had H5N1 bird flu

06 Jan 2009 09:41:08 GMT
Source: Reuters
HONG KONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) -

A 19-year-old woman has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Beijing, the Beijing Municipal Bureau and Hong Kong's government said on Tuesday.


"The woman fell ill on Dec. 24, was hospitalised on Dec. 27 and died on Monday (at) 7.20 am," the bureau said in a faxed statement.

Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection said the woman had had contact with poultry before the onset of symptoms.

China's official Xinhua News Agency earlier reported the woman had bought nine ducks at a market in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing.

(Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn; Editing by Paul Tait)​

<cite cite="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HKG23776.htm">Reuters AlertNet - HK confirms dead Beijing woman had H5N1 bird flu</cite>

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Updated map

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...d=106484775090296685271.00045fcd12b84ad3ac0d8

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Hong Kong: Notification of a human case of avian flu in Beijing (1/6/2009) [CHP]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health received notification from the Ministry of Health (MoH) today (January 6) concerning a confirmed human case of avian influenza H5N1 in Beijing.


A CHP spokesman said the patient was a 19-year-old woman living in a suburb of Beijing.

She developed symptoms on December 24 and passed away on January 5.

Laboratory tests on the patient's specimen by the Chinese Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention yielded positive for H5N1.

Investigations revealed that she had contact with poultry before the onset of symptoms.

The CHP is maintaining close liaison with the MoH to obtain more information on the case.

The spokesman reminded members of the public to remain vigilant against avian influenza infection and to observe the following measures:
* Avoid direct contact with poultry and birds or their droppings;
if contact has been made, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water;
* Poultry and eggs should be thoroughly cooked before eating;
* Wash hands frequently;
* Cover nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing, hold the spit with tissue and put it into covered dustbins;
* Avoid crowded places and contact with sick people with fever;
* Wear a mask when you have respiratory symptoms or need to take care of patients with fever;
* When you have fever and influenza-like illnesses during a trip or upon return to Hong Kong, you should consult a doctor promptly and describe your travel history.

For further information on avian influenza, please visit the CHP website: www.chp.gov.hk.
View Original Article

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

On Jiangsu outbreak:
http://www.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=7623

Gene sequencing by the National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory indicated that this virus is very similar to the avian influenza virus variant isolated in Shanxi in 2006.

http://www.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=7623

 

[Dark Horse]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Hong Kong: Notification of a human case of avian flu in Beijing (1/6/2009) [CHP]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health received notification from the Ministry of Health (MoH) today (January 6) concerning a confirmed human case of avian influenza H5N1 in Beijing.


A CHP spokesman said the patient was a 19-year-old woman living in a suburb of Beijing.

She developed symptoms on December 24 and passed away on January 5.

(snip)

The CHP is maintaining close liaison with the MoH to obtain more information on the case.....

The impression this and other articles are giving is that Hong Kong just found out about this case. If that is true, that is a big problem for Hong Kong and the rest of the world. Sounds like the SARS secrecy all over again.

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

The impression this and other articles are giving is that Hong Kong just found out about this case. If that is true, that is a big problem for Hong Kong and the rest of the world. Sounds like the SARS secrecy all over again.

Sounds like clade 7 and Beijing 2003.

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01060901/H5N1_Beijing_7.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

Re: China: death of a woman apparently affected by avian flu

China confirms bird flu death of Beijing woman-WHO
06 Jan 2009 11:44:13 GMT
<!-- 06 Jan 2009 11:44:13 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove -->Source: Reuters

<!-- AN5.0 article title end --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="/bin/js/article.js"></SCRIPT></SPAN><INPUT id=CurrentSize type=hidden value=13 name=CurrentSize> <!-- China confirms bird flu death of Beijing woman-WHO --><!-- Reuters -->(Recasts with WHO gets Chinese confirmation, previous HONG KONG)
GENEVA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - China's health ministry has confirmed that a 19-year-old woman died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Beijing, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.
China recorded three bird flu cases last year, all fatal. The bird flu virus is constantly mutating, and experts fear it could change into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person and kill millions of people worldwide.
At present, H5N1 remains mainly a bird virus, but WHO data released in mid-December showed 247 people had died from it out of 391 cases since the virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003.
"We received confirmation of the case from the Chinese health ministry. A 19-year-old woman died on Monday in Beijing of H5N1," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in Geneva. He had no further information.
Earlier, the Beijing Municipal Bureau and Hong Kong's government gave more details of the latest case.
"The woman fell ill on Dec. 24, was hospitalised on Dec. 27 and died on Monday (at) 7.20 am," the bureau said in a faxed statement.
Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection said the woman had had contact with poultry before the onset of symptoms. China's official Xinhua News Agency earlier reported the woman had bought nine ducks at a market in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing. (Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; editing by Paul Tait and Tim Pearce)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L695526.htm
<!-- news ## for search indexer, do not remove -->

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: Woman, 19, Confirmed H5N1 Death - Contacts Monitored

Re: China: Woman, 19, Confirmed H5N1 Death - Contacts Monitored

Reuters AlertNet - China confirms woman died of bird flu in Beijing

China confirms woman died of bird flu in Beijing

06 Jan 2009 12:57:11 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds Xinhua details in paragraph 9)
BEIJING/HONGKONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) -

A 19-year-old woman has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Beijing after coming into contact with poultry, health authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong said on Tuesday.


This human H5N1 case would be China's first in almost a year. Experts said while the case was not unexpected as the virus is more active during the cooler months between October and March, it points to holes in surveillance of the virus in poultry.

With the world's biggest poultry population and hundreds of millions of farmers raising birds in their backyards, China is seen as crucial in the global fight against bird flu.

"The woman fell ill on Dec. 24, was hospitalised on Dec. 27 and died on Monday (at) 7.20 am," the Beijing Municipal Bureau said in a faxed statement.

Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection said the woman had had contact with poultry before falling ill.

China's official Xinhua News Agency earlier reported that the woman from eastern Fujian province had bought nine ducks at a market in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, and then gutted the birds.

She gave three ducks to her father, uncle and a friend and kept the other six ducks, the agency reported.

It added that 116 people, including the patient's 14 family members and neighbour and 102 medical workers, had been in close contact with the patient.

A total of 13 people consumed the ducks bought by the victim, but she was the only one who fell ill, Xinhua said.

The market was open for business on Tuesday night and ducks were still being sold there, it said.

"In many parts of the world, human H5N1 cases are due to contact with infected poultry. A human case would confirm that there is poultry infection somewhere in the vicinity," said a virologist in Hong Kong who declined to be identified.

"It means that there are some leaks in surveillance in the poultry side (in China)," he said.

"Of course, we are approaching Chinese New Year and there is an increase in production, movement in poultry. That's why there's an increase in poultry infection."

The H5N1 remains largely a disease among birds but experts fear it could change into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person, and spark a pandemic that can kill millions of people worldwide.

Beijing has reported the case to the World Health Organization and health authorities in Hong Kong and Macau, and convened an emergency meeting to handle the bird flu case.

The WHO in Beijing said it had offered technical assistance.

Since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003, it has infected 391 people, killing 247 of them, according to WHO figures released in mid-December.

The last human H5N1 death in China was in February last year when a 44-year-old woman died in the southern Guangdong province.

At least 20 people have died of bird flu in China to date.

In neighbouring Vietnam, a five-year-old has been infected with bird flu, the first human case reported in the country this year, Vietnam's state-run television said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom, Yu Le, Kirby Chien and Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong; Editing by Sugita Katyal and Jerry Norton)​

<cite cite="http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK18521.htm">Reuters AlertNet - China confirms woman died of bird flu in Beijing</cite>

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: Woman, 19, Confirmed H5N1 Death - Contacts Monitored

Re: China: Woman, 19, Confirmed H5N1 Death - Contacts Monitored

Beijing Reports Fatality in Suspected Bird-Flu Case (Update4) - Bloomberg.com: News

Beijing Reports Fatality in Suspected Bird-Flu Case (Update4)

By Stephanie Wong
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) --

Beijing, the most severely infected city during the 2003 global SARS epidemic, has reported a possible death from avian flu, as an unusually cold winter saps resistance in the Chinese capital.


Huang Yanqing, who died at 7:20 a.m. yesterday in a Beijing hospital, handled the innards of nine ducks bought from a market in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, state-owned Xinhua News Agency said today in its English service. She had contact with 116 people, Xinhua said, citing the local health bureau.

The Geneva-based World Health Organization said China?s health ministry informed it today of the death, adding that it is prepared to offer technical assistance, according to a statement sent on PRNewswire.

Health and agricultural authorities culled 377,000 poultry in eastern China?s Jiangsu province in December after finding the H5N1 strain of the bird-flu virus in chickens. Areas where the poultry were raised had been disinfected, other birds were placed under quarantine, while the transport of poultry was restricted.

Contact with migratory birds carrying the virus is one possible cause of infection in poultry. Dead chickens in Hong Kong tested positive for the H5N1 strain last month and India culled more than 250,000 birds in its northeastern region to contain an outbreak.

The H5N1 strain of the avian-flu virus has afflicted 392 people worldwide since 2003, according to the WHO. Almost two of every three cases were fatal.

China?s Bird Flu
China has had 31 bird-flu cases in humans and 21 deaths since 2003, according to the WHO. A 24 year-old-man who died in Beijing in 2003 was initially thought to have died from the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Subsequent laboratory tests confirmed he had died from the avian flu, making him the first fatality in the Chinese capital from the disease.

Huang, 19, contracted her disease on Christmas Eve and was hospitalized on Dec. 27, according to a statement today on the Beijing health bureau?s Web site.

A nurse recovered from the fever she?d developed after coming in contact with the deceased woman, Xinhua reported.

China?s government was criticized by the WHO for its slow response to the 2003 SARS outbreak, which infected 8,098 people globally, killing 774, almost a third of the cases in the Chinese capital. President Hu Jintao fired health minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing mayor Meng Xuenong in 2003, after admitting that the city had covered up the number of SARS cases in the city.

An emergency meeting was convened yesterday in Beijing to handle the bird-flu case, Xinhua said without elaborating.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephanie Wong in Shanghai at swong139@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 6, 2009 10:17 EST​

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