Third case of bird flu in China

BEIJING, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Chinese health officials say they are keeping a close eye on poultry farms and agriculture markets after three cases of bird flu were confirmed this month.

A 27-year-old woman died of bird flu Saturday in China's Shandong Province and a 19-year-old woman died of the illness in Beijing on January 5, Xinhua news service reported. A 2-year-old girl is hospitalized in critical condition in Shanxi Province. She was found ill on Jan. 7 in central Hunan Province and was taken on Jan. 11 to Shanxi.

Officials are monitoring the health of 67 people who have been in close contact with the child. No one else has fallen ill, the report said. No abnormality was found in poultry farms or agriculture markets where the child had been, officials said.