China’s 10th bird flu victim dies

CHINA: A 9-year-old girl has died from bird flu in eastern China, bringing the country’s death toll from the disease to 10, Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.

The girl, surnamed You, died on Monday night in Zhejiang province “after all rescue efforts failed”, Xinhua said, quoting the information office of the Ministry of Health.

She was diagnosed with bird flu in late February after visiting relatives who kept poultry, Xinhua said previously.

A 32-year-old man died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu on Thursday in the southern province of Guangdong, near Hong Kong. He was believed to have contracted the virus at a poultry market.

China has been hit by more than 30 outbreaks in birds over the past year across a dozen provinces and has reported 15 human cases, 10 of whom have died.

The girl’s death has brought the global bird flu death toll since late 2003 to 96, most of whom were from Asia.

Beijing, Wednesday (Reuters)