World | Other World Stories
Woman in China dies after contracting bird flu virus
Of the 29 cases confirmed to date in China, 19 have been fatal.
- Agencies
- Published: 09:55 February 25, 2008
Hong Kong: A woman in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which she is said to have contracted from sick poultry she kept in her backyard, Hong Kong government health officials said on
Monday
The 44-year-old migrant worker, who was employed in Haifeng county in the eastern part of Guangdong, tested positive for H5N1 in a test by Guangdong's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the Health Ministry in Beijing has to confirm the
result.
"This lady kept some chickens in her backyard and they
became sick and died during the incubation period of her
illness. She also ate some of the chickens herself," said
Thomas Tsang, controller of Hong Kong's Centre for Health
Protection.
"The most likely route of transmission was from the sick
poultry she kept and she acquired avian influenza from this
source."
The woman developed symptoms of fever, cough and pneumonia on February 16, but was only admitted to the county hospital on February 22, after first seeking treatment at a local clinic, according to a statement from Guangdong's health department.
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