A 9-year-old girl in Ecuador has tested positive for H5 bird flu, making it the first such case in South America, local officials say. The girl became critically ill but is now in stable condition. The family, from a small and rural community in Bolívar province, had bought live chickens in the city of Ambato before they suddenly died, of no apparent cause, on December 20. The girl became sick about five days later. The girl initially experienced respiratory symptoms which were described as mild but her condition continued to worsen and she developed atypical pneumonia, after which she was tra…