A male resident in Beijing died of hydrophobia this week, the first death caused by hydrophobia in this capital city since 1994, the municipal health bureau announced Friday.

The man, 45, was a native of neighboring Hebei Province. He had been living in Beijing before death. He died of the fetal disease at the Ditan Hospital after bitten by a pet dog, according to the bureau.

The bureau urged local citizens to keep a close eye on their pet dogs and regularly take vaccine against hydrophobia.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2005)