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China confirms bird flu death

SHANGHAI: China confirmed on Friday that a 29-year-old woman had died of bird flu, as the nation's biggest city stepped up measures to prevent the potential spread of the disease.

The woman was a migrant worker in Shanghai who showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia on March 13 and died on March 21. Officials confirmed that she had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease, the official Xinhua news agency said.

It is the first human case of the disease for the economic hub of 17 million persons, and the 11th death from bird flu out of 16 human infections in China. Nearly all the previous cases have been in rural areas.

Confirmed tally

In Geneva, the U.N. health agency raised to 104 the confirmed human death toll from the H5N1 strain of bird flu, adding a 3-year-old Cambodian girl who died earlier this week.

The World Health Organisation said the confirmed human infections since the outbreak began in 2003 had reached 185. Virtually all the individuals were exposed to the disease in poultry.

AP

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