February 28, 2008

Southern China on red alert after human bird flu report

China's Guangdong has issued tighter surveillance on poultry and migrant birds after a human fatality due to bird flu was confirmed.

A 44-year-old woman in Haifeng county of Shanwei City died Monday and was infected with the bird flu virus, the county's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Authorities of Shanwei and Haifeng have immediately carried out vaccination and disinfection on poultry near the affected residence.

Guangdong has allocated 500 boxes of disinfectant to Shanwei for a thorough disinfection at poultry farms and trading markets.

The provincial forestry bureau of Guangdong issued an emergency notice on Tuesday, demanding a tightened monitoring on migrant birds.

With the latest human bird flu case, China now has a total of 30 cases since 2003.

On February 18, China's Ministry of Health confirmed that a 22-year-old man in the central province of Hunan to be positive of bird flu. Shortly after, a 41-year-old man also tested positive on Febraury 20 and died in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.