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BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) will send experts to join a mission to probe into the two confirmed human deaths from bird flu virus in east China's Anhui Province, according to WHO officials Thursday.
"The Ministry of Health (MOH) has invited WHO experts
to join the team to go to investigate into both cases in Anhui. Final details
are still being worked out," said Dr. Julie Hall, coordinator of epidemic alert
and response in WHO Beijing office.
Nevertheless, she did not disclose the specific date
of departure and their schedule in Anhui Province, but said the mission will
start "fairly soon".
China on Wednesday confirmed another human case of
H5N1 bird flu in Anhui Province, which was the third confirmed human case of
bird flu spotted in the country and also the second fatality of bird flu
reported in the province.
A woman farmer surnamed Xu, 35, in Xiuning County of
Anhui developed fever and pneumonia-like symptoms on Nov. 11 after having had
contact with sick and dead poultry. She died on Nov. 22.
Earlier, five WHO experts went to central China's
Hunan Province to look into three pneumonia cases from Nov. 14 to 17. MOH
announced one of the three cases -- a nine-year-old boy -- wasa confirmed human
case but he has recovered, and his sister who died was a suspected case.
MOH has not yet made a formal statement of the third
case in Hunan, a schoolteacher, of his status, but from WHO's point of view and
based on lab test outcome, he can be excluded of having H5 infection, said Hall.
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