China said Sunday it has asked for help from the World Health Organization in determining whether the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus killed a 12-year-old girl last month and sickened two others. If any of the cases are confirmed, it would be China's first reported case of bird flu in humans. Three people living in central China's Hunan province came down with pneumonia last month following an outbreak of H5N1 among local poultry, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Of those, a 12-year-old girl died. Her nine-year-old brother and a 36-year-old middle school teacher recovered from the illness. Chinese officials initially said that the girl and her brother had tested negative for the virus. However on Sunday, Xinhua said experts "cannot rule out the possibility of human transmission of H5N1 bird flu. The specific cause needs further laboratory tests." China has asked the World Health Organization for help in testing blood and throat swabs from the three victims, Xinhua reported. Roy Wadia, a WHO spokesman in Beijing, confirmed that China approached the agency for help last week. He did not give a specific date. --SP 1345 Local Time 1045 GMT
