Special report: Global fight against bird flu

    FUZHOU, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese veterinarian experts are battling to contain a possible outbreak of bird flu in Damiao Village and its outlying areas in Jian'ou, east China's Fujian Province, where a new case of human infection of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus was discovered on Tuesday.

    It had previously been reported that specialists from the veterinarian department of Fujian Provincial Government had found no infections from 200 avian samples analyzed in their laboratories.

    But new information from the Ministry of Agriculture has shown that 224 avian samples collected from Damiao Village and the adjacent areas had been analyzed and "a few" of the samples, both domesticated and wild fowls, had tested positive for infection.

    The specialists concluded that there was a slight possibility of infection being spread by wild fowls.

    All of the samples have been sent to the China National Bird Flu Reference Lab, based in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, for further tests.

    Early on Thursday, local health authorities released the information about the fatality to the public.

    A 44-year-old woman, who was only identified by her surname Li,from Damiao, a mountainous village in Fujian Province, had been infected with the bird flu virus lethal strain H5N1.

    Li, who keeps five chickens at her home, developed symptoms including fever and pneumonia on Feb. 18 and was confirmed to be infected by the virus by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Feb. 27.

    Li, who was confirmed to have been in contact with dead poultry, is in a critical condition in hospital.

    All live poultry in Damiao Village and its adjacent areas within a three-square-kilometer radius have been culled, and Li's home and the adjacent areas have been properly disinfected, said alocal government spokesman.

    Local markets for live fowls and processed fowl products in Damiao and its adjacent regions have been suspended.

    Local health authorities said they were closely monitoring those who had had close contacts with Li. So far, they have showedno symptoms of the disease, they said.

    Zhang Changping, commander-in-chief of Fujian Provincial Headquarters for Prevention and Control of Major Animal and Plant Diseases, has ordered compulsory inoculation of all fowls in the region.

    Zhang asked local workers to quarantine and check animals at every stage - farms, slaughter houses and the market. "Those who fail to do so will be punished accordingly," said Zhang.

    A separate news item published by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture at its website on Thursday said two special panels of specialists sent by the ministry had arrived in Fujian to give guidance in bird flu control.

    Li is the country's first human case of bird flu in seven weeks since China reported on Jan. 10 that a 37-year-old farmer ineast China's Anhui Province had contracted bird flu but had recovered.

    The virus has killed 14 people in China since 2003.

    According to the Fujian health authorities, China's Health Ministry has conveyed the information to the World Health Organization, and health agencies of the regions of Hong Kong and Macao and Taiwan Province, and other countries.