China announces 7th human death of bird flu

Another human case of bird flu in China died recently, bringing the total bird flue death toll to seven, the Ministry of Health said in Beijing Wednesday.

The new fatality is a 29-year-old woman, surnamed Cao, from Jinhua Town of Chengdu City in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the ministry's information office told Xinhua.

Cao was identified as the 10th human case in China on Monday, after being hospitalized in a critical condition, according to the ministry. Three of the 10 patients are either recovered or under treatment.

On Jan. 12, she showed fever and pneumonia symptoms. Her samples tested H5N1 positive.

The office failed to provide more details about the victim, but said it is probing into the source of her infection and any possible bird flu outbreak among poultry in the area where she lived.

Cao's death brought the country's bird flu fatalities to seven. She was the second bird flu death in Sichuan. The other deaths were reported in the provinces of Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, and in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Source: Xinhua