China Reports New Bird Flu Death

The Xinjiang disease control centre confirmed that she was ill from the H5N1 bird flu virus, the report said.

China on reported its fourth human death from H5N1 bird flu in recent weeks on Saturday, this time in the far northwest region of Xinjiang.

The Chinese Ministry of Health reported on its website (www.moh.gov.cn) that the latest victim was a 31-year-old woman surnamed Zhang who died in the early hours of Friday. It follows three other recent deaths across the country from the virus.

The Xinjiang disease control centre confirmed that the woman, a resident of the regional capital Urumqi, was infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus, the report said. She fell ill two weeks ago, it said.

Investigators found that the woman "had a history of exposure in poultry markets", the Ministry's report said. But it did not give any details.

Even before this latest deaths, Chinese health officials have been urging extra vigilance against the virus after confirming four human infections in the past two weeks, including three deaths.

Those victims all fell ill in areas where there had been no known cases of bird flu in birds.

The H5N1 strain of flu remains largely a virus among birds, but experts fear it could change into a form that is easily transmitted among humans and could spark a pandemic that could kill millions worldwide.

Including the latest death, at least 35 people have been infected in China and 24 have died from H5N1.