Beijing municipal health authorities confirmed Tuesday a 19-year-old woman was infected with bird flu and died in Beijing Monday.
Huang Yanqing died at 7:20 a.m. on Monday. This was the first human bird flu case reported in Beijing since 2003, according to the municipal health bureau.
Huang fell ill on Dec. 24. Her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to hospital Dec. 27.
Experts with the Beijing Municipal Center for Diseases Control and Preventive Medical Research and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences launched examinations on the samples from Huang. Both tested the samples positive for the H5N1 bird flu strain. Ministry of Health experts determined that Huang was infected with bird flu.
Huang, a native of east China's Fujian Province who lived in Chaoyang District in Beijing, bought nine ducks at the Yanjiaoqingong Market in Langfang City of Beijing's neighboring Hebei Province on Dec. 19 along with two town fellows. She cleaned the ducks' internal organs, according to the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.
She gave three ducks to her father, uncle and a friend and kept the other six ducks.
"According to the initial investigation, a total of 13 people have eaten the duck and Huang is the only one who fell ill," said Zhao Qingchao, an official with Langfang Municipal Government.
"We had thoroughly combed all stands in the market," he added.
He said the duck had been traced to Jixian County in north China's Tianjin Municipality.
As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, the market is still open for business and ducks are still being sold there.
No bird flu case had been found in Langfang City so far, said a spokesperson with China's Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday.
Experts with the ministry, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Beijing Municipal Center for Diseases Control and Preventive Medical Research have arrived in the city for investigation.
The Beijing Municipal Health Bureau said 116 people, including the patient's 14 family members and neighbors, had been in close contact with the patient. The others include 11 medical workers in Guanzhuang Hospital, 78 in Luhe Hospital and 13 in Beijing Chest Hospital. One nurse at the Guanzhuang Hospital who had been in contact with the patient suffered from fever. The nurse has recovered.
Beijing has reported the case to the World Health Organization, and health authorities of China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.
An emergency meeting was convened in Beijing Monday evening to handle the bird flu case.
Beijing has carried out bird flu prevention and control measures, including disinfecting and isolating the patient's house and wards she had used and closely monitoring further cases by medical institutions at all levels.
Last month, a baby girl was diagnosed as having the H9N2 bird flu strain and received treatment in a Hong Kong hospital.
(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2009)
