Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
China announces third bird flu death this year
Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:22am EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Ian Ransom
BEIJING (Reuters) - A 16-year-old boy died of bird flu in central China on Tuesday, the third death this year, as experts warned that lax monitoring could mask the true extent of the disease in Chinese poultry.
A health official on Tuesday also confirmed the mother of a toddler infected with the avian virus from the same province had died of pneumonia weeks earlier.
After going almost a year without recording a case, four human infections have been reported in China in the last two weeks, as millions of people flock to poultry markets to buy food ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Three have died and one remains in hospital.
The latest victim, a student, died in hospital in Huaihua, in central Hunan province, after falling ill in neighboring Guizhou, another health ministry official said.
Chinese health authorities now say the patients in three of the four cases had had close contact with poultry prior to being infected. It was unclear whether the fourth case, a 27-year-old woman who died in eastern Shandong province on Saturday, had also come in contact with poultry.
With all the victims having fallen ill in different provinces without any prior reports of outbreaks among local bird populations, experts are concerned that surveillance gaps may be masking the true extent of the disease.
"Quite a few provinces now have human cases, so where is the source of the infection?" said Leo Poon, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong.
"The recent cases indicate that (the victims were directly infected by poultry) and that the outbreak of the disease in poultry may be very widespread. That increases the likelihood of people getting infected," Poon said.
The H5N1 flu remains largely a virus among birds, but experts fear it could change into a form that is easily transmitted among humans and spark a pandemic that could kill millions worldwide.
Since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003, it has infected 397 people, killing 249 of them, according to WHO figures.
With the world's biggest poultry population and hundreds of millions of backyard birds, China is seen as critical in the fight to contain bird flu, and shares long, permeable borders with countries that regularly report outbreaks.
There were only three recorded cases in China in 2008, all of which were fatal. At least 34 people have been infected in China and 23 have died.
MORE CASES FEARED
A batch of smuggled Chinese chickens infected with bird flu made its way to neighboring Vietnam, officials there said last week. An eight-year-old girl was taken to hospital after being confirmed infected with bird flu earlier this month. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
North Korea steps up warnings against South
Also on Reuters
Video
Video: Chaos and carnage at caravan rally
Antarctic bases turn to renewables -- even solar
Slideshow
Slideshow: Forty and fabulous in Hollywood
More International News
Israel to quit Gaza before Obama inauguration
| Video
Russia gas flowing to Europe again
| Video
Iraqis eager for first polls since 2005
North Korea steps up warnings against South
| Video
China fears containment as defense spending rises
More International News...
Video
Bird flu kills 1 in fresh outbreak
Play Video
More Video...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Obama poised to become 44th U.S. president
Carrey's at his nimble best in gay-themed "Morris"
Outrage at busty Virgin Mary models
Antarctic ice shelf set to collapse due to warming
RBS loss a record for a UK firm, shares in freefall
Foundation concerns could delay Clinton confirmation
Israel to quit Gaza before Obama inauguration | Video
Editorials worldwide pillory Bush one final time | Video
FACTBOX: Barack Obama, 44th president
For Obama, high hopes and a global honeymoon
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Obama pays tribute to King
Unprecedented security for Obama
Outspoken Russian lawyer slain
EU youth protest economic crisis
Barack Obama's daunting challenges
The classroom of the future
Stars come out for Obama concert
Red Cross hostages' phone plea
Hamas warning as Israel withdraws
Hamas announces own ceasefire terms
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
the great debate
World Affairs:
In Gaza war, lions led by donkeys?
Bernd Debusmann
It's not often that a senior member of Washington's usually staid and cautious foreign policy establishment likens Israeli political leaders to donkeys and questions their competence. But the fighting in Gaza prompted Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies to do just that. Commentary
Blog: Reporting in Gaza: Striving for fairness
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.