Beijing, China, January 7: In the first case of human infection since February last year, bird Flu has claimed the life of a 19-year-old girl in China, said the government on Tuesday.
Huang Yanqing, a native of Fujian province, died around 7:20 on Monday morning after falling ill on Dec. 24. She was admitted in the hospital on Dec. 27.
How she came in contact with the virus is not yet clear but the state-run Xinhua news agency reported that on Dec. 19 Huang had closely handled some ducks at a market in Hebei province, on the outskirts of Beijing. She purchased nine ducks. After getting them slaughtered in the market, she cleaned the dead fowl and passed a few of them over to some relatives and friends.
Huang's virus samples were tested by experts from the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed the results and confirmed that the girl had been infected with H5N1 strain.
Though Huang had been in close contact with 116 people, she alone, fell ill. "According to initial investigation, 13 people ate the ducks but Huang was the only one to fall ill," said Zhao Qingchao, an official with the local government in Langfang city, where the market is located.
The World Health Organization (WHO), and the health departments of Hong Kong and Macao have already been informed about the case.
On Monday evening, the authorities held an emergency meeting in Beijing to discuss and figure out the steps required to deal with a possible outbreak of the disease.
All medical institutions in the capital city have been put on high alert.
Mao Qun'an, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said public-health officials have warned about a possible multiplication of avian influenza among birds this year, which consequently puts the humans to a greater risk of infection.
"We have been paying great attention" to the possibility of human illnesses, Mr. Mao said.
According to Dapeng, former head of the capital's Health Bureau, "Huang's case was detected timely and handled well and every effort should be made to prevent an outbreak." He believes that Beijing is well-equipped to combat an outbreak of any major disease.
The WHO expects to be informed about every detail on the case and, if requested, it will also arrange for technical assistance.
The spread of H5N1 is likely to swell with the help of cooler weather in the northern hemisphere and the WHO said an increase in human cases of H5N1 infection is "likely over the next few months."
According to the agency, after having resurfaced in 2003 in Asia, the virus has claimed more than 247 lives. It poses a huge threat to humans as it is feared that the virus may mutate to take a form that can spread from man-to-man.
Post new comment