Chinese media reports that a 41-year-old woman has become the country's latest human fatality from the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Xinhua News Agency reported that the woman, who died on December 21, was a factory worker in the southeastern city of Sanming in Fujian province. A report from the Health Ministry identified her only by the surname, Zhou, and Chinese officials said they could not speculate how she was believed to have caught the virus.

According to Chinese media, this is the country's seventh human case of bird flu and the third fatality. The death of a 12 year-old girl has yet to be confirmed as a result of bird flu.

Authorities have destroyed millions of birds to contain outbreaks, and are in the midst of a campaign to inoculate all of China's 5.2 billion poultry. The country has already dealt with 31 sizeable outbreaks of bird flu in poultry this year.

World Health Organization officials report that survelliance systems are being strengthened throughout the nation, and the search for potential cases has become more aggressive.

This Article is from MyDNA.com

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