China confirms second case of bird flu

A 2-year-old girl who tested positive for bird flu is China’s second confirmed case of the virus this month, the World Health Organization said Sunday.

A 19-year-old woman in Beijing, in Hebei Province, died Jan. 5 after handling ducks bought at a local market, CNN reported.

The 2-year-old fell ill Jan. 7 in neighboring Hunan Province, reported Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. No details were given of how the girl contracted the bird flu virus, officially known as H5N1.

Thirty cases of H5N1 — 20 of them fatal — have been confirmed in China since 2005.

The virus, found in birds in more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, has killed more than 200 people in all since 2003. No cases have been reported in North or South America, CNN reported.