Second death in China
NST, 25 Nov 2005

BEIJING, Thurs. --- China confirmed its second human death from bird flu and Vietnam reported an infection in a 15-year-old boy today, as Indonesia announced the deaths of hundreds of chickens from the disease in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province.

The latest Chinese fatality was a 35-year-old farmer identified only by her surname, Xu, who died on Tuesday after developing a fever and pneumonia-like symptoms following contact with sick and dead poultry, the official Xinhua News Agency said. She tested positive for the H5N1 virus.

The area is about 100km northwest of Zongyang County, where the country’s first human flu death was reported.

Indonesia’s Agriculture Ministry said that chickens had been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain in at least three districts of Acheh and hundreds had died.

Sjamsul Bahri, the Agriculture Ministry’s director of animal health, said bird flu had now been found in 23 of Indonesia’s 30 provinces.

But its emergence in Acheh --- where tens of thousands of people still live in crowded refugee camps following the Dec 26 tsunami --- is especially worrisome.

In Vietnam, the country hardest-hit by the disease, authorities said a 15-year-old boy from the northern port city of Haipong was the latest person to test positive for H5N1. --- AP.