February 13, 2006

 

Bird flu claims its 8th victim in China
 

 

A woman in Central China's Hunan Province has died of bird flu, bringing the country's death toll of the disease to eight, China's Ministry of Health reported on Friday.

 

This was the 12th human case of bird flu reported in China. Seven of victims in the previous 11 confirmed cases have died.

 

The victim, a 20-year-old farmer, showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on Jan 27 after culling poultry and died on Feb 4, the ministry said.

 

Chinese health officials said that some cases of human infection of bird flu were caused by environmental contamination.

 

The human cases found in the areas where no outbreak of bird flu in animals had been reported, were caused by environmental contamination by sick or dead birds, said Mao Qun'an, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, at a press conference.

 

About one third of the reported human cases of bird flu in the world were found in areas with no outbreak in animals, said Mao. The exact channels of the human infection are still under investigation.

 

Mao said some grassroots health departments are weak in early diagnosis and timely treatment of patients, thus resulting in high mortality rates from the disease. The virus also replicates quickly in the body and affects multiple organs, making it difficult for medical personnel to effect treatment, Mao said.

 

The ministry has provided financial aid and training to grassroots medical staff and warned the public to stay away from sick or dead poultry.

 

Elsewhere, results of tests by the World Health Organization showed that two Indonesian women who died last week had died of bird flu, a hospital spokesman said.

 

Both victims tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus. This increases Indonesia's death toll from the virus to 18.