China confirms seventh human bird flu case

China confirmed its seventh human infection - and third human death - from bird flu yesterday, after officials revealed a 41-year-old factory worker died from the disease over a week ago.

The victim, a woman surnamed Zhou, died on December 21 and lived in Sanming City in eastern China's Fujian province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing China's Ministry of Health.

Like previous human victims of the H5N1 virus in China, she apparently contracted the disease in an area that has not officially reported previous outbreaks among birds.

The health ministry said "no H5N1 bird flu outbreak in animals was detected in the area where the new case was reported", Xinhua reported.

Zhou "showed symptoms of fever and pneumonia" on December 6 and was hospitalised two days later, the report said.

Initial tests for the H5N1 virus were negative. But later tests by provincial investigators and China's Centre of Disease Control showed positive results, Xinhua said.

H5N1 is the bird flu virus that scientists fear may mutate into a strain that can spread easily among people, unleashing a human pandemic that could kill millions.

"Zhou has been confirmed to be infected with bird flu in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organisation and the Chinese government," the health ministry said in its statement.

The H5N1 virus has killed more than 70 people in Asia since late 2003 and is endemic in poultry flocks across parts of the region.

China, along with Vietnam, has suffered numerous outbreaks in poultry since October and Beijing has launched sweeping measures to stop the virus spreading and infecting more people, including a campaign to vaccinate all domestic poultry.

China's latest human bird flu death comes after two fatalities from the virus in Anhui province in eastern China.

WHO experts also believe a 12-year-old girl in the southern province of Hunan very probably died from bird flu in November, but China does not include her in its tally.