Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) — A drought in northern China that has
limited drinking water to almost 4 million people may also be
making birds more susceptible to the deadly H5N1 avian-flu strain.
The lack of rainfall in Shandong, Shaanxi and other northern
provinces since October causes stress for local fowl, said
, who
specializes in birds. “Any sort of stress would make birds more
susceptible to disease,” she said by e-mail today.
Bird flu killed Read the rest of this entry »

SHANGHAI — A 19-year-old Beijing woman has died of bird flu, the first human case of the virus in China since February last year, the government said Tuesday, putting public-health officials on higher alert for a possible resurgence of the disease this winter.
The woman, who lived on the outskirts of China’s capital, succumbed Monday morning to the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, according to a statement by the Beijing health bureau. It didn’t Read the rest of this entry »

HONG KONG, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — A health official of Hong Kong said here Saturday laboratories in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland will study carefully test results for the samples taken from a chicken farm where a recent avian flu outbreak occurred.
Dr. Leung Ting-hung, Acting Controller of the Center for Health Protection in Hong Kong, said on a radio program here Saturday that health authorities will check whether there is any virus mutation Read the rest of this entry »