Markets in Asia great place to catch bird flu

The death of the 29-year-old woman takes the death toll in China from the deadly virus to seven since November.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the woman died on Monday after developing a fever on January 12th.

Apparently she worked in a shop selling dry goods and as yet there is no evidence that she had been in contact with diseased birds.

WHO figures estimate that bird flu has killed at least 83 people since it reemerged in late 2003.

Experts say the H5N1 virus remains essentially a disease in birds and is contracted through close contact with sick birds, but they fear that as the virus spreads it will mutate enabling it to spread easily from human to human, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions.

The woman's death is the second in the Sichuan province this month.

It appears the victims lived in regions around 150 km (90 miles) apart, and the WHO is concerned that no outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have been confirmed in the areas where they lived.

The WHO is advising that China, tests for possible H5N1 infection in all cases of severe respiratory disease where there is no alternative diagnosis probable, even when no poultry outbreak has been reported in the area where patient's live.

Chinese officials have previously admitted that the numerous small family farms, the dearth of properly trained health officials along with having the world's biggest poultry population, will make it hard to contain the disease.

Despite the deaths in Turkey of children from the virus, Asia remains the nub of the battle against bird flu, but the Turkish deaths are an indication that the virus is spreading closer to Europe.

Meanwhile Indonesia is reportedly treating a chicken seller suspected of contracting the virus, and the WHO says this highlights the threat presented by such traditional markets in Indonesia and in other countries.

According to Hariadi Wibisono, director of control of animal-borne diseases at the Health Ministry, the 22-year-old chicken seller is being treated in a hospital for bird flu patients in Jakarta.

In an effort to curb the spread of the virus, the WHO is calling for preventive measures such as limiting contact between humans and poultry in markets, as well as better access to water and improved waste management.

Alexander von Hildebrand, the WHO's Southeast Asia regional adviser for environmental health, has said the massive interaction between humans and live poultry which takes place every day in wet, traditional markets in the region is a potential source of bird flu.

A Japanese group which helps defectors from North Korea has reported that a woman in Pyongyang was infected with bird flu last month after chickens carrying the disease were found in the capital.

According to Lee Young-wha, the head of Rescue the North Korean People! Urgent Action Network, said the woman was reportedly admitted to a Red Cross hospital in December.

In November North Korea's state media said it was stepping up its efforts to counter an outbreak of bird flu, but no cases of human infection had been reported.