China steps up efforts to contain bird blu spread

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cctv.com 02-03-2004 09:23


As more avian flu reports crop up in China, the nation is facing a rapid spread of the disease. But the Chinese government has promised an aggressive campaign to contain it.

During his inspection of the flu-affected areas of Hubei and Anhui provinces, Premier Wen Jiabao said central authorities have already issued guidelines and policies on avian flu prevention. He also asked local governments to strictly enforce these guidelines.

In the meantime, Wen promised compensation for farmers and called for timely updates from all the affected areas.

To cope with the disease, the State Council has established a National Bird Flu Prevention Headquarters to intensify the current prevention and control work.

Editor:Zheng  Source:CCTV.com

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cctv.com 02-02-2004 09:34


The World Health Organization has appealed to China to take more urgent action to control the spread of bird flu. The WHO appeal came as the Chinese government reported two new suspected outbreaks in two provinces, central Hubei and southern Guangzhou, on Saturday.

The WHO called on the Chinese government to share more information about the disease and step up monitoring for possible human cases. At the WHO's Beijing office, an official warned about the serious situation in China.

WHO Spokesman Roy Wadia said: "We've seen that of course the outbreak has occurred and some are confirmed and it seems to be spreading fast. That's why we urge that at this time, even now, there is still a window of opportunity, if you will, but that is already shrinking quiet fast."

The local authorities say the latest outbreaks in Hubei and Guangdong provinces are under control after slaughter and quarantine measures were taken. China also confirmed cases in the central province of Hunan and announced suspected cases in Shanghai and Anhui province of East China on Friday. The Chinese authorities have reported no human cases of the disease.

China has reported five more areas with suspected cases of the deadly bird flu virus in poultry. That brings to 11 the total number of suspected and confirmed outbreaks on the mainland.

The Ministry of Agriculture says fowls have been culled in the eastern province of Zhejiang, the central provinces of Hubei and Henan, the southwestern province of Yunnan and northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Samples have been sent to the National Bird Flu Laboratory for testing and no human infections have been reported.

Editor:Zheng  Source:CCTV.com

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Monday, February 2, 2004 Posted: 12:52 PM EST (1752 GMT)

[B](CNN) -- Asian nations are battling new cases of bird flu as the World Health Organization investigates what may be the first instance of humans transmitting the disease in the current outbreak. [/B]

China on Monday said it believed bird flu has reached poultry in one of its remotest regions, and reported five more areas with suspected cases, bringing the number of outbreaks in the nation to 11.

And the region's death toll is now at least 12, following the death of a teenager in Vietnam Monday and confirmation from Thai health officials of the country's third death from bird flu.

The latest death came early Monday at Vietnam's Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, according to hospital deputy director Tran Tinh Hien. The youth was admitted last Thursday.

Thai officials said Monday an autopsy on a 58-year-old woman who had previously died from an illness suspected to be bird flu, produced test results that confirmed she actually had the disease.

Charal Trinwuttthipong, Thailand's Director General of Communicable Disease, said 81 cases of people with flu-like symptoms were being "examined closely," but had not be moved into the suspected-case category.

Three of Thailand's four confirmed cases of bird flu have died. There are 18 suspected cases of bird flu in Thailand still awaiting test results. There have been deaths in half of the suspected cases, including a six-year-old boy who died Monday afternoon.

So far 10 nations across Asia are struggling to stop a disease that has already killed at least 12 people and millions of chickens.

On Sunday the WHO said two Vietnamese sisters who died from bird flu on January 23 may have caught the illness from their brother, although WHO officials have not ruled out contact with poultry yet.

If confirmed, it would be the first known case of human-to-human transmission of the virus during the current outbreak sweeping Asia.

While limited transmission of the virus between humans is not considered a serious danger, experts fear the virus might mutate into a form that passes easily between people

The WHO said it is still trying to confirm the source of the infection for the two sisters, aged 23 and 30, who died on January 23.

"WHO considers that limited human-to-human transmission, from the brother to his sisters, is one possible explanation," the organization said in a statement Sunday.

[B]Family cluster[/B]

The sisters are part of a cluster of four cases which includes their brother and his wife, in Thai Binh province.

The brother died shortly before his sisters were hospitalized, but it is not clear if he was infected with the H5N1 bird flu because no samples were available to test.

His wife was admitted at the same time as the two sisters, but recovered.

"The investigation failed to reveal a specific event, such as contact with sick poultry, or an environmental source to explain these cases," according to the WHO statement.

"At the same time, such exposures cannot be discounted, either."

Bird flu spread between humans in a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong that killed six people.

Of Vietnam's 10 confirmed human cases of avian influenza, nine have died and one has recovered.

While the bird flu has spread in poultry across Asia, so far only Vietnam and Thailand have confirmed human cases. Thailand has confirmed three fatalities from bird flu, including the woman Monday.

That brought the total number of confirmed cases of bird flu in Thailand to four, including three dead. There are 18 suspected cases of bird flu in Thailand still pending confirmation, with 9 of those 18 already dead.

Officials in Cambodia last week reported two boys who played with chickens are suspected of having come down with the virus.

[B]Dwindling chances[/B]
China announced five new suspected cases in poultry on Monday, including one in its remote northwestern region of Xinjiang -- underlining the potentially broad range of the disease.

Xinjiang is more than 2,000 kilometers (about 1,200 miles) from the southern region of Guangxi, where China's first case of bird flu was confirmed last week.

With the new report, China now has three confirmed cases and eight suspected cases in poultry.

The WHO on Saturday urged China to take swifter action against bird flu, warning that its chances to contain the disease may be dwindling.

Beijing has closed poultry markets and processing factories in some bird flu-affected areas.

In addition to Vietnam, Thailand and China, the flu has been discovered in Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia. A different strain of bird flu has been detected in Taiwan.

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cctv.com 02-06-2004 09:12


Vietnamese medical experts say they have successfully decoded the gene sequence of the H5 type flu virus. Experts from the Tropical Diseases Hospital in Ho Chi Min City claim that the gene sequence map they have worked out is much more complete and clear than the map of the bird flu virus that caused the outbreak of bird flu in Hong Kong in 1997.

They have also found some differences between the two viruses. The Vietnamese experts believe their discovery will be very helpful with the development and effective use of vaccines to treat bird flu disease.

Editor:Xiao  Source:CCTV.com