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Updated Wednesday, January 7, 2009 3:17 pm TWN, AP

China inspects poultry after bird flu death

BEIJING -- China's government has begun disinfecting poultry markets and inspecting farms in the capital and a nearby province after bird flu killed a woman in Beijing earlier this week, the country's first death from the illness in nearly a year.

China's Agriculture Ministry said Tuesday that inspections of poultry markets and slaughterhouses in the Chinese capital are being intensified and that officials are checking to make sure chicken have been vaccinated against the disease.

The World Health Organization said the case did not appear to signal a new public health threat.

The official Xinhua News Agency said workers were disinfecting a market in neighboring Hebei province where the victim bought nine ducks on Dec. 19. The market's five poultry shops have been closed.

China's Ministry of Health said tests confirmed that Huang Yanqing, 19, had contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus. Xinhua said Huang became ill after buying and cleaning the ducks. She died Monday in a Beijing hospital.

There was no poultry within 6 miles (10 kilometers) of her house, and there was nothing unusual among poultry in neighboring districts, the Agriculture Ministry Web site said.

It was the first reported death in China from the illness in nearly a year.

The WHO said Huang's case was similar to others reported worldwide, and does not appear to involve human-to-human transmission.

"This single case, which appears to have occurred during the slaughtering and preparation of poultry, does not change our risk assessment," the organization's Beijing office said.

Officials worry the virus could mutate into a much-feared form that could spread easily among people. But, for now, it remains hard for people to catch, with most human cases linked to contact with infected birds.

According to the latest WHO tally, bird flu has killed 248 people worldwide since 2003, including 21 in China.

The H5N1 bird flu virus continues to devastate poultry stocks around the world. China, which raises more poultry than any other country, has vowed to aggressively fight the virus.

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