China names more 'bird flu' areas
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Tens of millions of chickens have been killed so far.
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Nations hit by bird flu
•S. Korea
•Japan
•Thailand
•Vietnam
•Cambodia
•Indonesia
•Pakistan
•China
•Laos
•Taiwan (different strain)
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BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China reported five more areas with suspected cases of the deadly bird flu virus in poultry Sunday, bringing to 11 the total number of such outbreaks in eight provinces.
Ten out of 33 regions in the world's most populous nation have confirmed or suspected outbreaks of the avian influenza, which has spread to 10 Asian countries and killed at least eight people in Vietnam and Thailand.
"It's more widespread than we thought," Beijing-based World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Roy Wadia said by telephone. He declined further comment.
China is also battling to keep another deadly virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), from resurfacing. A Chinese doctor in the southern province of Guangdong was confirmed last week as China's fourth case since a global epidemic was declared over last July.
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, that can jump to humans from fowl, surfaced last December and has led to the slaughter of millions of chickens and ducks across Asia.
Chinese authorities have culled or vaccinated fowl in five new areas with suspected bird flu cases, including Yichang city in the central province of Hubei, China Central Television quoted the Agricultural Ministry as saying.
Hubei, the hardest hit province, also has one confirmed outbreak and another suspected case.
CCTV also reported suspected outbreaks on Sunday in Yongkang city in the eastern province of Zhejiang, Chenggong county in the southwestern province of Yunnan, Pingyu county in the central province of Henan and a construction corps in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Samples were sent to the national bird flu laboratory for tests but no human infections have been reported, CCTV said.
WHO CONCERN
Chinese authorities have closed down poultry processing factories in three provinces where outbreaks have been confirmed -- Hubei, nearby Hunan and southern Guangxi, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Chinese authorities have been culling poultry within three km (two miles) of infected farms, vaccinating birds within five km (three miles) and established a national command headquarters to battle the disease.
Xinhua has quoted agriculture officials as saying the epidemic has been brought under control. It did not elaborate.
But the WHO was not so sure.
"It is entirely conceivable that there could be more cases...We are extremely concerned," Wadia said before the new outbreaks were reported.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao unveiled an action plan last week to stem the spread of the disease, calling for timely updates from affected areas, compensation for farmers forced to slaughter poultry and preventative steps to keep the new strain from leaping to humans.
Authorities have banned poultry exports from six of the bird flu-hit provinces and stepped up sanitation checks at markets.
Controlling outbreaks in China, expected to produce some 10.1 million tonnes of poultry in 2004, is worrisome to health experts because nearly four out of five fowl are raised on household farms, where peasants live close to their animals.
The WHO has said opportunities for China to stop the spread of bird flu were narrowing. It has requested more information on China's use of vaccines to fight the flu, concerned they could mask infections.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
