Jan 25, 2009, 2:12 GMT
Beijing - A 31-year-old woman died of bird flu in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, becoming the fourth death from the disease in the country this year, state-run media reported.
The woman surnamed Zhang, a resident in the regional capital Urumqi, died early Friday, Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Xiaoyan, deputy director of the regional health department, as saying.
People who had close contact with Zhang have not shown symptoms of infection yet, Wang said.
The woman in Urumqi's Toutunhe district, fell ill on January 10 after she bought a live chicken in a poultry market in neighbouring Changji City and ate the meat, according to the report.
She first went to a private clinic and then the Changji City People's Hospital for treatment before finally going to the No. 1 Hospital affiliated with Xinjiang Medical University in Urumqi, Xinhua said.
Xinjiang's agricultural, animal husbandry and health authorities had begun an investigation into the infection source and strengthened inspection of poultry farms to prevent possible epidemic, officials said.
Three other people died of bird flu and another has been infected so far this year. The first death was a 19-year-old woman in Beijing on January 5, followed by a 27-year-old woman in Shandong province on January 17 and a 16-year-old boy in Hunan province on January 20.
A 2-year-old girl who was critically ill with the disease was out of danger at a hospital in Shanxi Province on Friday after her vital signs remained stable for six consecutive days, Xinhua said.
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