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Bird flu hits Beijing

A 7-year-old girl has become Beijing’s first confirmed case of a new strain of the bird-flu virus that has killed 11 people and sickened 37 others in eastern China, officials said yesterday.

The girl, whose parents are in the live-poultry trade, was admitted to a hospital Thursday with symptoms of fever, sore throat, coughing and headache, the Beijing Health Bureau said.

She was confirmed to be infected with the H7N9 virus yesterday after tests by disease control and prevention centers.

The case in China’s capital is the first one reported outside eastern China, where the virus was first spotted in late March, prompting massive slaughtering of live fowl and bans on the poultry trade in several cities.

Shanghai, the center of the outbreak, has reported 21 cases, including seven fatalities.

One person was discharged after recovering, the local government said.

The Beijing Health Bureau said the girl was recovering in a hospital and was in stable condition.