Girl tests positive for bird flu virus

People in close contact with the girl have been under medical observation.
BEIJING (AP) -- A 10-year-old girl in southern China has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus, the government said Tuesday, making her the country's fourth human bird flu case.
The girl, a pupil surnamed Tang, lives in Ziyuan County in the Guangxi region, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Health Ministry.
She has been sick with a fever and pneumonia since Nov. 23 and has undergone emergency treatment, Xinhua said.
Dead ducks were found in Dingdang, a town in Guangxi, in January 2004 -- the mainland's first case of bird flu. The region borders Vietnam, the country hit hardest by the disease.
People who have had close contact with the girl have been under medical observation, Xinhua said. So far, none has shown any symptoms, it said.
Other victims
Last month, two farmers in the eastern province in Anhui, both women, died of the disease after coming in contact with sick poultry.
A 9-year-old boy in central Hunan province also fell ill but recovered and has been discharged from the hospital.
The virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 69 people in Asia since 2003, mostly through contact with infected birds.
Experts have warned the virus could mutate and become more easily passed between people, sparking a global pandemic that could kill millions.
China has mounted an aggressive campaign to fight repeated bird flu epidemics in poultry, which increase the potential risk of human cases.
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