First Death From Bird Flu

Although wars throughout the world account for hundreds of deaths every day, civilian attrition by bird flu just seems a worse way to die. China reported its first human death from the virus late last year and now has just accounted for its 11th bird flu death. The H5N1 strain of bird flu in China has taken the life of 29 year old Li from Shanghai, as report in Xinhua news. The government has opened 160 monitoring stations and health clinics as well as distributed booklets with preventative measures throughout the city.
The bird flu has contaminated poultry all around the world and killed 100 people since 2003, most of whom were Asians. Although not fully validated, experts agree that almost all human infections are caused by contact with sick poultry and fear the virus could mutate to spread by human to human contact.