Tuesday, January 6, 2009

19-year-old woman in Beijing dies of avian flu

Created: 2009-1-7 1:26:06


A 19-YEAR-OLD Beijing woman who suffered the city's first human case of bird flu since 2003 has died, municipal health authorities said yesterday.

There were no immediate reports of any other illnesses associated with her death or outbreaks of bird flu among flocks in the region.

Huang Yanqing, who became sick on December 24, was hospitalized on December 27 as her condition deteriorated. She died on Monday morning.

Experts at the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Preventive Medical Research and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences checked biological samples taken from Huang.

The samples tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, and the results were confirmed by the Ministry of Health.

Huang, a native of east China's Fujian Province who lived in Beijing, bought nine ducks on December 19 at the Yanjiaoqingong Market in Langfang City in Hebei Province.

Huang removed the ducks' internal organs, according to the Beijing Health Bureau, and gave ducks to her father, uncle and a friend and kept the other six ducks.

"According to the initial investigation, 13 people ate the ducks, and Huang was the only one who fell ill," said Zhao Qingchao, a Langfang government official.

"We thoroughly combed all stands in the market," he added.

The official said the ducks were traced to Jixian County in Tianjin City, which borders Beijing.

As of last evening, the Yanjiaoqingong Market was still open for business, and ducks were still being sold there.

No bird flu cases have been found in Langfang City so far, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.

Experts at the ministry, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Preventive Medical Research have arrived in Langfang to complete the investigation.

The Beijing Health Bureau said 116 people, including Huang's 14 family members and neighbors and 102 medical workers, had been in close contact with the patient. Among them, one nurse suffered a fever but has recovered.

Beijing reported the case to the World Health Organization and health authorities in the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions.

An emergency meeting was convened in Beijing on Monday evening to address the bird flu case.

Beijing has carried out a series of bird flu prevention and control measures, including disinfecting and isolating Huang's house and the wards where she was treated.

Medical institutions at all levels are closely monitoring for possible additional cases, according to local officials.

Last month, a baby girl was diagnosed as having the less-virulent H9N2 bird flu strain and received treatment in a Hong Kong hospital.
hat-tip Niman

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