Bird Flu Death Raises Concerns Of Outbreak In China

A 19-year-old woman in Beijing, China has died of the avian flu, the first human case in the country since February 2008, according to various press reports.

The World Health Organization released a statement that the woman likely became infected while preparing poultry. She died Monday morning of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, according to the Beijing health bureau.

A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Health said the government has forecast an increase in the amount of birds carrying the virus this year, making it possible more people in the country will become infected, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Avian influenza viruses typically don't infect humans, according to WHO's website. When they do, they cause severe respiratory problems. In most cases of human infection, the person has come into contact with contaminated poultry or with objects that came into contact with its feces.

Nine Asian countries have reported outbreaks of avian flu since 2003, and the virus has spread to parts of Europe, the Russian Federation and parts of neighboring Kazakhstan and Ukraine, according to WHO.

There were 115 human infections of H5N1 in 2006. Seventy nine of those were fatal. In 2008, there were 40 reported infections, 30 of those were fatal.