WHO warns of more China bird flu outbreaks
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-17 22:24

China is likely to suffer more outbreaks of bird flu among poultry and possibly people in coming winter months, a WHO official said on Thursday after China confirmed its first cases of human infection.

Chinese villagers watch as health workers spray disinfectant in Heishan county, November 16, 2005. [Reuters]

China announced on Wednesday a woman in eastern Anhui province had died from the H5N1 avian flu strain which was suspected in the death of a 12-year-old girl last month in southern Hunan.

The strain was also confirmed in the girl's 9-year-old brother who recovered. The World Health Organization was "seeking further information" about a possible human infection in Liaoning province in China's far north, said Henk Bekedam, WHO's chief official in Beijing.

China is now the fifth country to report human deaths from H5N1, as fears grow the virus will trigger a pandemic.

The Agriculture Ministry reported late on Thursday two new outbreaks of avian influenza among birds in Xiaogan, central Hubei province and Hetian city in the western region of Xinjiang, Xinhua news agency said without elaborating.

"We expect there will be more poultry outbreaks to come," Bekedam told reporters, noting that the H5N1 virus that causes bird flu can survive longer in cold weather.

"As long as there are poultry outbreaks, people will be exposed to the virus and we can expect that people might get infected."