Health officials in China say a deadly strain of the bird flu virus has killed a 19-year old woman, the country's first reported death from the disease in nearly a year.
Officials say the woman (, Huang Yanqing,) died at a hospital in the Chinese capital after falling ill December 24th. Officials say she had the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease.
They say the woman had contact with poultry before the symptoms appeared. The official Xinhua news agency says the woman bought nine ducks at a market in Beijing's neighboring Hebei province.
The case is the first in China since a 44-year-old woman died last February in southern Guangdong province.
Also today, health officials in Vietnam say an eight-year-old girl in the northern part of the country tested positive for the disease.
Officials say the girl was admitted to a hospital December 27th with a high fever and other symptoms after eating a sick goose raised by the family.
Since resurfacing in 2003, the World Health Organization says bird flu has killed 247 people worldwide, including 20 in China and 52 in Vietnam.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.