It was reported that the woman, who was identified as Huang Yanqing, has bought nine ducks at a market in Heibei province and slaughtered them.

Although, 13 people had eaten from the birds, Huang Yanqing was the only one who got sick and died. She is the first bird flu victim in China since 2003. The victim developed symptoms on 24 Dec 2008, was hospitalized, and died on 5 January 2009.

 

The Beijing Municipal Health Bureau announced that of the 16 people who have been in contact with the victim, only one nurse developed a fever, but later recovered.

 

The Chinese authorities closed the poultry stalls at the market where Huang bought the ducks and traced the bird back to the Jixian community in Tianjin.None of the 15 employees at the stalls tested positive for infection.

 

Since 2003, a total of 31 of the 392 world-wide cases of human H5N1 infection and 21 of the 248 resulting deaths occurred in China, the WHO said. In 2008 there had been three identified cases and three deaths.

 

Meanwhile, WHO informed that the Ministry of Health in Viet Nam has reported a new confirmed case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The case has been confirmed at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE).

 

The case is an 8-year old girl from Dien Trung commune, Ba Thuoc district, Thanh Hoa province. She developed symptoms on 27 December 2008 and was hospitalized on 2 January 2009. She is currently in a stable condition. The case is known to have had recent contact with sick and dead poultry prior to the onset of her illness.

 

Of the 107 cases confirmed to date in Viet Nam, 52 have been fatal.