MSNBC China 'weak and vulnerable' to bird flu

[Guest guest]

>

>China 'weak and vulnerable' to bird flu

>China's vast size and its still-developing

>disease reporting systems have made it " weak and

>vulnerable " against bird flu, a top Chinese

>official said Thursday, while hard-hit Vietnam

>slapped a ban on all poultry sales.

>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4176775/

 

An Indonesian farmer carries chickens at a

poultry farm in the village of Bolangan, on Bali.

The H5N1 bird flu virus strain has been confirmed

in Indonesian chickens.

 

The Associated Press

Updated: 12:30 p.m. ET Feb. 05, 2004

 

BANGKOK, Thailand - China's vast size and its

still-developing disease reporting systems have

made it " weak and vulnerable " against bird flu, a

top Chinese official said Thursday, while

hard-hit Vietnam slapped a ban on all poultry

sales.

 

The avian influenza sweeping Asia has killed 15

people, and jittery governments have slaughtered

some 50 million chickens and other fowl to stop

the disease from spreading. Indonesia added its

name to the list on Thursday, saying it would

cull 10 million birds.

 

Though health officials previously said safely

destroying infected poultry was the best way to

contain the fast-moving virus, experts meeting in

Rome suggested vaccinating healthy poultry as

well.

 

Vietnam - where 10 people have died - ordered a

nationwide ban on sales of all live chickens and

poultry products. Officials said the order was to

contain the disease, but did not elaborate.

 

No human cases reported in China

It was not clear whether authorities feared

people might catch bird flu by eating infected

meat. The World Health Organization says there is

no evidence yet that the virus is spreading to

people who eat properly cleaned and cooked

poultry products. But countries worldwide,

including the United States, have imposed import

bans on poultry from nations affected with bird

flu.

 

Thailand is the only other country where the

virus has jumped to humans, with five deaths.

 

China has confirmed five outbreaks of the disease

and reported 18 suspected ones, but it has not

reported any human cases. Chinese officials again

rejected rumors circulating in recent days of

human cases, saying they were groundless and that

there was no attempt at a cover-up.

 

Chinese officials faced similar accusations last

year during the outbreak of SARS, or severe acute

respiratory syndrome. The Beijing government

admitted it had the disease after weeks of denial.

 

" I can say in a responsible way that there is no

human (bird flu) infection in China, " Vice Health

Minister Wang Longde said at a news conference of

government officials.

 

At the same presser, Vice Agriculture Minister

Liu Jian vowed stringent measures to stop the

virus before it spreads to people. But he

acknowledged that " some parts of our animal

disease-prevention system are weak and

vulnerable, and the public has limited knowledge

about the disease and ways to prevent it. "

 

" The poultry population in China is quite big,

and production methods are quite diverse. That

has brought us some difficulties in controlling

this epidemic, " he said. " It remains an arduous

task for China. "

 

 

Suspected cases in Thailand

Thailand reported two new suspected cases: a

2-year-old boy from northeastern Khon Kaen

province and a 67-year-old man from central

Chainat province, Thai officials said. Thailand

has 19 suspected cases in all, nine of whom have

died.

 

Bird flu has now been found in 40 of Thailand's

76 provinces and authorities said Thursday that

nearly 26 million chickens have been culled.

 

International experts meeting in Italy were

expected to issue recommendations on containing

the virus at a news conference later Thursday.

 

The recommendations will focus on international

coordination, surveillance and transparency in

reporting, said the U.N. Food and Agriculture

Organization, which is hosting an emergency

meeting at its Rome headquarters.

 

The recommendations may also include the vaccination of healthy poultry.

 

Hualan Chen of the Chinese Agriculture Ministry,

one of many officials and experts at the meeting

in Rome running through Thursday, said broader

vaccination could reduce the need for

industry-damaging culls.

 

" People totally agree that we don't need to kill

so many chickens or birds, " the official said.

 

The WHO is working to develop a human vaccine

against bird flu, but an animal vaccine against a

closely related strain of the disease already

exists. Some farmers have used it to protect

against other forms of bird flu and experts

believe it could give chickens partial protection

from the deadly virus now afflicting farms in 10

Asian nations.

 

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast,

rewritten or redistributed.

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