Agriculture minister: Bird flu under control in China ( 2004-02-05 08:49) (Xinhua)
China's Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin Wednesday told two United Nations
organizations that the bird flu situation in China is now under control, and
China is fully confident that it can do a good job of preventing the spread of
the highly contagious virus.
The minister explained the country's efforts to
put the virus under control to the representatives of the China offices of World
Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the
United Nations, and some diplomats stationed in Beijing.
Du said the ministry is willing to improve its current mechanism on reporting
the situation to the UN organizations, and expand its cooperation with them and
other countries in the fight against the disease.
The Chinese government attaches great importance to curbing the bird flu,
and, as always, gives top priority to the health and safety of its people, the
minister noted.
Chinese governments at both the central and local levels have been mobilized
in the fight against the disease, and no human infection of the virus has been
detected, Du said.
He gave a detailed briefing on the measures the ministry has been taking in
the battle against the virus, including the monitoring of the epidemic situation
across the country, the slaughter of birds in areas with bird flu cases, and the
production of bird flu vaccines, and the efforts it has made to help and
supervise localities in the battle.
China has established a reporting mechanism to ensure that the latest bird
flu situation is reported promptly, and has been moving swiftly to contain the
epidemic, the minister said.
All domestic fowls within a three-km radius of
affected site have been slaughtered and rendered harmlessly, while compulsory
vaccination of such fowls within a five-km radius has been launched, together
with disinfection of those areas and other areas under threat by the disease, he
said.
The ministry has dispatched about 10 inspection groups to the Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, and Hubei, Hunan, Anhui and Guangdong provinces, where bird
flu outbreaks have been reported, to ensure that proper measures have and will
be taken to contain the outbreaks.
The minister said his ministry is willing to establish what he describes as
transparent and expeditious channels of communication with the FAO and WHO, and
improve the existing mechanism of reporting its bird flu situation in written
form.
He said that he welcomed exchanges of information and cooperation with the
two UN organizations, and other countries, especially neighboring countries, in
the course of China's fight against the bird flu epidemic.
The FAO and WHO officials and some diplomats spoke highly of the attitudes of
the Chinese government and its counter measures against bird flu, saying that
they are willing to improve cooperation with China in this field and offer
assistance.
Another bird flu outbreak confirmed
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed a previously
suspected outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in Chenggong County in
Yunnan Province, southwest China.
The confirmation was based on the report from the National Bird Flu Reference
Laboratory. No person has been reported to have contracted the disease so far.
The local government has been taking measures including fowl slaughter and
compulsory vaccination to prevent the spread of the outbreak.
In addition, the ministry on Wednesday announced two more areas where
suspected outbreaks of bird flu cases have been found.
The two areas are Guandu District of Kunming, Yunnan's capital city, and
Gaolan County of Gansu Province, northwest China.
As soon as the suspected cases were spotted, local governments began
slaughtering chickens and implementing compulsory vaccination. Samples have been
sent to the National Bird Flu Reference Laboratory.
The minister explained the country's efforts to
put the virus under control to the representatives of the China offices of World
Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the
United Nations, and some diplomats stationed in Beijing.
All domestic fowls within a three-km radius of
affected site have been slaughtered and rendered harmlessly, while compulsory
vaccination of such fowls within a five-km radius has been launched, together
with disinfection of those areas and other areas under threat by the disease, he
said.
