China reported a new outbreak of bird flu in the southwestern
province of?Sichuan yesterday, and the Ministry of Agriculture
said the situation there was under control.
More than 1,800 birds were found dead on December 22 at a farm
in Sichuan's Dazhu County, said a statement on the ministry's
website.
Yesterday samples tested at a laboratory confirmed that the
birds had died from the H5N1 virus, which has killed millions of
birds and more than 71 people in Asia since late 2003, according to
the statement.
More than 12,900 birds at the farm in Liuyan Village of Yangjia
Town have since been culled to halt the spread of the virus.
Two ministry officials have been dispatched to the site to
investigate bird flu prevention and control work, it said.
Authorities have destroyed millions of birds to contain
outbreaks and are in the midst of a campaign to inoculate all of
the nation's 5.2 billion poultry.
The ministry's statement did not refer to any confirmed or
possible human infections. China has reported seven cases of bird
flu in humans, three of which have been fatal.
Most human infections have been the result of contact with sick
birds, but scientists fear that the H5N1 virus could mutate into a
form that passes easily among humans, sparking a human flu pandemic
that could kill millions.
Health officials in China are especially concerned about the
risk of transmission during the
Lunar New Year in late January, when large shipments of poultry
are moved around the country to supply family banquets.
(Shanghai Daily January 4, 2006)