Who May Seek to Probe Latest China Bird Flu Case

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that it may seek to investigate bird flu control measures in China's northeastern Liaoning province, where the country's fifth human case has been reported.

A 31-year-old woman farmer, who has now recovered, lived in Heishan County where there had been an outbreak of bird flu among poultry and she had been in contact with dead birds, the official Xinhua agency reported late on Thursday.

"We have been informed of the case, which is the first human case reported in that area, so it is a concern," WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng told Reuters in Geneva. "We may be requesting an international joint mission be sent to investigate control measures being taken," she added.

The woman went down with a fever and symptoms of pneumonia in late October and was treated at a local hospital. Initial tests for the H5N1 virus were negative, and she went home on November 29.

She was negative for H5N1 in a test by the China Disease Prevention and Control Center, but on December 5, a further test showed she had been infected with bird flu, according to the Xinhua report.

"We would like more information on the sources of exposure and clarification on what kind of testing procedures are being used. Of course, we'd also like to get more information on the virus itself," Cheng said.

Two women poultry workers died from the disease -- which mostly affects birds -- in eastern Anhui province last month, while a 9-year-old boy survived in southern Hunan province. His dead sister is a suspected case.

China, which has had over 30 outbreaks among birds this year, also reported on Tuesday that a 10-year-old girl was sick with the virus in southern Guangxi region.

Bird flu killed a young Thai boy, Asia's 70th victim of the deadly virus in two years, authorities said on Friday.