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.