January 8, 2009
Beijing restricts transport of poultry after bird flu death
Animal disease control officials have restricted the transport of poultry into Beijing on Wednesday (Jan 7) after a woman died from bird flu in the city early this week, according to Xinhua news agency.
Transports of live poultry into Beijing must be permitted by the city's animal disease control office, said Xinhua.
Inspectors have stepped up checks of poultry markets and slaughterhouses, while officials are making sure that birds are vaccinated against the disease, said the Agriculture Ministry.
Officials were also disinfecting a market in neighbouring Hebei province where the woman had bought nine ducks. Five poultry shops in the market were closed.
It was China's first bird flu death in nearly a year, though the World Health Organisation said the case did not appear to signal a new public health threat.
"This single case, which appears to have occurred during the slaughtering and preparation of poultry, does not change our risk assessment," the organisation's Beijing office said.
