By Lee Spears
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- China recorded its fourth death from avian influenza this year when a 31-year-old woman died in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The woman, a resident of the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi, died at 4:40 a.m. on Friday, Xinhua reported, citing Wang Xiaoyan, deputy director of the regional health department. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention today confirmed she was infected with the H5N1 strain of the virus, the report said.
The Xinjiang woman became ill on Jan. 10 after going to a poultry market, Xinhua said. China’s three previous deaths this year include a 19-year-old woman in Beijing on Jan. 5; a 27- year-old woman in northern Shandong province on Jan. 17; and a 16-year-old boy in central Hunan province on Jan. 20.
A 2-year-old girl hospitalized in northern Shanxi province appeared to be recovering from a bird-flu infection yesterday, Xinhua said.
The H5N1 strain of avian influenza has infected at least 397 people in 15 countries since 2003, killing 63 percent of them, according to the Web site of the Geneva-based World Health Organization.
Officials have been monitoring H5N1 for more than a decade for signs it could mutate into a form that’s easily spread between humans. A flu pandemic of avian or other origin could kill 71 million people worldwide and lead to a “major global recession” costing more than $3 trillion, according to a worst- case scenario outlined by the World Bank in October.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lee Spears in Beijing at lspears2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: January 24, 2009 04:19 EST
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