Avian influenza has been widely debated in the last years, as it can spread to humans, not only poultry. The H5N1 virus has killed 248 people worldwide since 2003 and scientists are afraid that the virus might mutate into something more dangerous and cause a pandemic. Presently, the virus is mostly a threat to birds, but most cases of humans infected with the virus proved to be fatal.

Recently, a woman in Beijing has died from bird flu after she handled ducks at a Hebei Province market, near Beijing, on December 19. The woman came in close contact with other 116 people, but none of them show symptoms of the disease.

The woman's home has been disinfected and isolated, but the market where she bought the birds is still selling ducks. The fact that no other people are showing symptoms of the H5N1 virus is a good sign, pointing out that this might be an isolated case.

This is the first human case of the virus in China since February last year, the government said Tuesday, putting public-health officials on higher alert for a possible resurgence of the disease this winter. National health authorities are worried by the fact that the H5N1 virus has the potential to mutate. If bird flu can be transmissible from one human to another, things can get pretty bad.

The Chinese government is doing the best to remove all possible threats of the virus and it should be noted that this is still a disease that affects mostly birds, not humans.