A 31-year-old woman has died of bird flu in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. She is the fourth person to die from the disease in China this year.

The woman surnamed Zhang lived in the regional capital Urumqi. She had been to a poultry market before she fell ill on January the 10th. Zhang was confirmed to have been infected with the H-5-N-1 strain of bird flu on Saturday.

So far, no one who had close contact with her has shown symptoms of infection. The Urumqi city government has set up a task force to prevent and control the virus. It also launched a daily surveillance and reporting system.

The central government has warned that the mass migration of workers and students for the lunar New Year makes it a greater challenge to effectively prevent the spread of the disease.

 (CCTV January 26, 2009)