A team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) investigated on Tuesday China's first human case of bird flu in Zongyang County of eastern Anhui Province, visiting local disease-prevention departments and the hospitals where the case has been treated.

Accompanied by their Chinese counterparts, WHO experts arrived at the disease control and prevention center of Zongyang County at 8:30 am.

"You tell us the situation frankly, and we hope we can give you some help with your work," said Xu Xiyan, a WHO expert from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Head of Zongyang County Wang Changgen briefed WHO experts on the county's measures of preventing bird flu, related medical facilities and other measures that have been taken. A 24-year-old woman farmer surnamed Zhou, was confirmed dead ofH5N1 bird flu virus on November 16 by the Chinese Ministry of Health.

WHO experts interviewed persons in charge of health, agriculture, disease control and animal husbandry departments of Zongyang and Anqing city, where the county is located. After discussions and exchanges, WHO experts examined the laboratory and facilities in the center, and then went to the village where Zhou lived, only a few kilometers from the Yangtze River. It has more than 200 households and over 700 villagers. Most of its robust young villagers go out for manual labor jobs throughout the year, including Zhou.

Zhou's father Zhou Meilong came out to welcome the experts. Xuheld Zhou's hands tightly and said, "You lost your daughter and we also feel so sad. We hope we haven't disturbed you much and we want to get more information through this field investigation to better prevent human beings from being infected by bird flu virus,"

Zhou Meilong and his wife answered carefully the questions by WHO experts on their daughter's illness. After that, experts investigated the kitchen, henhouse and surroundings of Zhou's house.

At 14:00 in the afternoon, the experts visited the People's Hospital of Tongling city where Zhou had received treatment and died despite rescue efforts on November 10. They had in-depth exchanges with more than ten doctors and nurses who had participated in Zhou's treatment and read Zhou's medical records. The experts' team ended their investigation at 16:00 pm. And then came back to the province's capital Hefei. They have yet to meet personnel at the provincial health department.

In Xiuning County, another joint team made an inspection in the hospital, where a 35-year-old female farmer surnamed Xu died of bird flu infection. They also visited Shandou Village where the dead lived, inquiring about the details of the victim's condition before and after getting infected.

Editor: Donald