China hasn't found bird flu cases in poultry since human case

China's Ministry of Agriculture hasn't found bird flu in poultry in Beijing and surrounding areas since stepping up checks for the virus after a woman died of H5N1 infection in the capital Monday (January 5).

The ministry dispatched specialists to major poultry breeding farms and poultry trading markets in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province to test animals for the bird flu virus after the human case, but no evidence of the virus was found, it said in a statement published on its Web site Thursday.

No bird flu cases have been confirmed in China since last June, it added.

The ministry issued guidelines recently to strengthen monitoring and prevention of major animal epidemic diseases ahead of the Chinese New Year, which falls on January 25.

A 19-year-old woman, Huang Yanqing died from bird flu Monday after falling ill Dec. 24, the Beijing Health Bureau said.

Huang contracted the disease after dressing ducks she had bought in neighbouring Hebei province.

Huang's death was the first bird flu casualty in China since a woman died of the disease in the southern province of Guangdong last February.