China raises bird flu alert after woman's death

By MarketWatch
Last update: 12:14 a.m. EST Jan. 7, 2009

Beijing officials ordered stepped-up checks in markets, slaughterhouses and farms that handle and raise poultry in an area near the nation's capital Wednesday after confirmation that a 19-year-old woman died of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza earlier this week.Workers began disinfecting a market in Langfang, Hebei Province, where the woman purchased nine ducks and had them butchered on Dec. 19, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The woman, who lived in a densely-populated area of Beijing known as Chaoyang District, fell ill on Dec. 24, was sent to the hospital three days later and died on Jan 5. The death was the first in China attributed to bird flu since February last year.

Municipal officials have also informed civilian agencies of the mater and raised the alert level at local hospitals. The five stalls selling live poultry in the market, located in the province bordering Beijing to the south, have been closed.

Commercial air travelers landing in Hong Kong from Beijing will hear a special announcement on bird flu. Passengers traveling to Beijing will be warned to avoid attending festivals marking the Lunar New Year where live birds are slaughtered, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hong Kong reported an outbreak of H5N1 at a poultry farm in a rural area last month, which triggered a mass culling and 21-day shutdown of poultry trade in the area.