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WHO warns of more China bird flu outbreaks
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-17 22:24
China is likely to suffer more outbreaks of bird flu among poultry and
possibly people in coming winter months, a WHO official said on Thursday after
China confirmed its first cases of human infection.
Chinese villagers watch as health workers
spray disinfectant in Heishan county, November 16, 2005.
[Reuters] |
China announced on Wednesday a woman in eastern Anhui province had died from
the H5N1 avian flu strain which was suspected in the death of a 12-year-old girl
last month in southern Hunan.
The strain was also confirmed in the girl's 9-year-old brother who recovered.
The World Health Organization was "seeking further information" about a possible
human infection in Liaoning province in China's far north, said Henk Bekedam,
WHO's chief official in Beijing.
China is now the fifth country to report human deaths from H5N1, as fears
grow the virus will trigger a pandemic.
The Agriculture Ministry reported late on Thursday two new outbreaks of avian
influenza among birds in Xiaogan, central Hubei province and Hetian city in the
western region of Xinjiang, Xinhua news agency said without elaborating.
"We expect there will be more poultry outbreaks to come," Bekedam told
reporters, noting that the H5N1 virus that causes bird flu can survive longer in
cold weather.
"As long as there are poultry outbreaks, people will be
exposed to the virus and we can expect that people might get infected."
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