China restricts import of poultry after bird flu death

Beijing: China's state news agency says poultry from outside Beijing must to get approval from animal disease control officials to enter the city following the bird flu death of a woman in the Chinese capital earlier this week.

It was China's first death from the illness in nearly a year, though the World Health Organisation said the case did not appear to signal a new public health threat.

The Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday said inspectors have stepped up checks of poultry markets and slaughterhouses and officials are making sure chickens have been vaccinated against the disease.

The Xinhua News Agency did not say how long the restriction would be in place.