A 44-YEAR-OLD woman suspected of having bird flu died in a hospital yesterday in Guangdong Province, the provincial health department confirmed.

The woman, surnamed Zhang, died at 9:25 a.m. in Pengpai Memorial Hospital in Haifeng County, after all efforts by doctors proved futile, according to the health department.

Zhang, a migrant worker from Sichuan Province, was found to have had contact with poultry that had died of bird flu. She developed symptoms of fever and cough Feb. 16, the department said.

Zhang was transferred to Pengpai Memorial Hospital last Friday. She was then diagnosed with pneumonia from an unknown source of infection.

Blood samples taken from her tested positive for the bird flu virus strain H5N1, the department said.

The local government undertook prevention and control measures once the case was reported. Those who had close contact with Zhang were put under strict medical observation. So far, none have shown signs of the disease.

Zhang’s death brought the number of confirmed human bird flu cases in China to 30 since 2003. She is also the 20th to be killed by the disease.

On Feb. 18, the Ministry of Health confirmed that a 22-year-old man surnamed Li in Hunan Province had tested positive for H5N1. He died Jan. 16.

On Feb. 20, a 41-year-old man surnamed Liang, who had tested positive for H5N1, died in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

World Health Organization statistics show as of Feb. 1, human bird flu infections had claimed 225 lives worldwide.

(Xinhua)