Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) began Monday to investigate the two human bird flu cases in east China's Anhui Province with their Chinese counterparts.

"Our purpose of this visit is to know more about the two human bird flu death cases and the prevention measures taken here," said Julie Hall, an official for communicable diseases with WHO Beijing office, adding they are at the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Health (MOH) to do so.

The WHO experts group, together with experts from the Chinese Ministry of Health and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, listened to a report made by the provincial health department of Anhui on the precautions it had taken to prevent human beings from infecting bird flu virus on Monday morning.

Then, the group went to the two counties of Xiuning and Zongyang on Monday afternoon, where the two human cases were reported, to carry out field investigation there in the following three days.

They would visit the disease control and prevention centers and the hospitals, where the two women were treated, in the two counties, said Julie Hall.

MOH confirmed the two human case of H5N1 bird flu in Anhui on Nov. 16 and 23 respectively.

The two cases involved a 24-year-old woman farmer surnamed Zhou in Zongyang County and a 35-year-old woman farmer surnamed Xu in Xiuning County.

Zhou and Xu both developed fever and pneumonia-like symptoms after contacts with sick and dead poultry. They died despite rescue efforts on Nov. 10 and 22 respectively.

Source: Xinhua