Jan 15 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization confirmed on Tuesday the death of an Indonesian woman from human H5N1 avian flu. There have been 217 human deaths globally from the H5N1 strain and 350 confirmed cases of infection since 2003, according to WHO data. Here is a chronology of major recent bird flu developments: Feb. 8, 2006 - First African cases of the deadly H5N1 strain are detected in poultry in northern Nigeria. Feb. 18 - India announces its first cases of H5N1, finding the virus in poultry in a western state. Feb. 25 - France confirms H5N1 at a farm where thousands of turkeys died, the first case of the virus in domestic farm birds in the European Union. Sept. 28 - China shares long-sought-after samples of H5N1 in what many scientists view as a breakthrough in cooperation. Feb. 3, 2007 - WHO confirms bird flu killed a 22-year-old Nigerian woman, its first known human fatality in sub-Saharan Africa. -- H5N1 is found to have killed 2,500 turkeys on a farm in southeast England, the first outbreak in British poultry. Feb. 27 - Laos confirms its first human case of bird flu. The patient dies on March 7. April 17 - The first bird flu vaccine for people wins U.S. approval. June 16 - Vietnam says bird flu killed a 20-year-old man, the first death in the country from H5N1 since late 2005. July 26 - India confirms the latest outbreak of bird flu in poultry in Manipur state in the remote northeast is the H5N1 strain. It is the first case reported in India in a year. Oct. 4 - A study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison says H5N1 has mutated to infect people more easily, although it still has not transformed into a pandemic strain. Nov. 13 - Britain confirms the bird flu outbreak on a turkey farm in eastern England is the virulent H5N1 strain. Dec 6 - Donors at a summit of experts on bird flu pledge $406 million in additional funds to combat the virus. Dec 14 - WHO confirms Myanmar's first human case of bird flu in a seven year-old girl in Shan state. She survived. Dec 27 - WHO confirms the first case of human H5N1 in Pakistan after a 25-year-old man from Peshawar died on Nov 28. Jan 10, 2008 - Britain finds the H5N1 strain of bird flu in three wild swans at a bird sanctuary in Dorset, southern England. Jan 15- WHO confirms the death of a 32-year-old Indonesian woman. Of the 118 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 95 have been fatal. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)
The sun is seen through haze as a Chinese farmer walks in a dried-up river near the city of Baoding in Hebei Province, located around 150km (93 miles) south of Beijing, ...
