Shanghai must enhance prevention-measures against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, to guarantee public security and residents' health, Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said at yesterday's regular government work conference.

On the evening of March 24, the Ministry of Health confirmed that a 29-year-old woman in Shanghai had died from bird flu.

The city's Party Committee and Municipal government are paying great attention to this and taking prompt measures to enhance prevention against the epidemic disease, Mayor Han said.

The local health department has required hospitals and medical institutes to operate a daily reporting system and all the districts and counties to establish special emergency-response systems.

(Shanghai Daily March 29, 2006)