Guangdong has tightened surveillance on poultry and migrant birds after a confirmed human bird flu death case in a county of the south China province.

A 44-year-old woman surnamed Zhang in Haifeng County of Shanwei City died on Monday in hospital after developing symptoms of fever and a cough since Feb. 16, said the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.

Her specimens tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, said the country's Center for Disease Control and Prevention. She was found to have had contact with poultry.

The agricultural and husbandry authorities of Shanwei and Haifeng have carried out emergency vaccination and disinfection on poultry near the residence of the dead patient, the Guangdong Agricultural Department said.

No abnormal situation of poultry has been reported, it said.

Guangdong has allocated 500 boxes of disinfectant to Shanwei to help conduct a thorough disinfection at poultry farms and trading markets.

The provincial forestry bureau of Guangdong on Tuesday also issued an emergency notice demanding a tightened monitoring on migrant birds.

The newly confirmed human bird flu case brought the total number of such cases in China to 30 since 2003. Zhang was also the 20th to be killed by the disease in the country.

On Feb. 18, the Ministry of Health confirmed that a 22-year-old man surnamed Li in the central province of Hunan tested positive for H5N1. He died on Jan. 16 at 5 p.m.

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

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2008)