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WHO to Probe Two Human Bird Flu Deaths in China's Anhui Province

Posted on: Friday, 25 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Beijing, 24 November: The World Health Organization (WHO) will send experts to join a joint mission to probe into the two confirmed human deaths from bird flu virus in east China's Anhui Province, according to WHO officials Thursday [24 November].

"The Ministry of Health (MOH) has invited WHO experts to join the team to go to investigate into both cases in Anhui. Final details are still being worked out," said Dr Julie Hall, coordinator of epidemic alert and response in WHO Beijing office.

Nevertheless, she did not disclose the specific date of departure and their schedule in Anhui Province, but said the mission will start "fairly soon".

China on Wednesday confirmed another human case of H5N1 bird flu in Anhui Province, which was the third confirmed human case of bird flu spotted in the country and also the second fatality of bird flu reported in the province.

A woman farmer surnamed Xu, 35, in Xiuning County of Anhui developed fever and pneumonia-like symptoms on 11 November after having had contact with sick and dead poultry. She died on 22 November.

Earlier, five WHO experts went to central China's Hunan Province to look into three pneumonia cases from 14 to 17 November. MOH announced one of the three cases - a nine-year-old boy - was a confirmed human case but he has recovered, and his sister who died was a suspected case.

MOH has not yet made a formal statement of the third case in Hunan, a schoolteacher, of his status, but from WHO's point of view and based on lab test outcome, he can be excluded of having H5 infection, said Hall.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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