Suspected bird flu patient dies - China

CHINA: A Chinese woman suspected of having bird flu has died in a Beijing hospital, the official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.

Huang Yanqing died Monday after buying and cleaning nine ducks last month at a market in Hebei province, which borders Beijing, the report said. Her age was not known.

Xinhua quoted the Beijing Health Bureau as saying 116 people had been in close contact with Huang. One nurse had a fever but has since recovered, the report said.

The Ministry of Health reported the case to the World Health Organization.

A spokeswoman for the organization in Beijing said Tuesday that it did not have any further details.

Bird flu has killed 247 people worldwide since 2003, according to the WHO, including 20 in China out of 30 human cases.

BEIJING, Tuesday, AP