January 4, 2006

 

China reports bird flu outbreak among poultry in Sichuan

 

 

The Chinese government said the virulent H5N1 bird flu strain killed 1,800 poultry in south-western Sichuan province late last month.

 

The birds were found dead Dec 22, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement posted on its website late Tuesday.

 

The statement made no mention of possible human infections.

 

The agriculture ministry said the local government of Dazhu County in Sichuan had culled 12,900 poultry by Dec 27 but did not say what kind of poultry had been infected.

 

The ministry warned Friday that China could face more poultry infections in winter and spring. This is because during the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January, large shipments of poultry are moved around the country amid higher consumption during the festive period.

 

China has reported 26 bird flu outbreaks in poultry since Oct 19.

 

So far, it has confirmed three human fatalities caused by the H5N1 strain, among a total of seven human cases.

 

The authorities have destroyed millions of birds to contain the spread of the virus. In fact, a campaign to inoculate all of China's 5.2 billion poultry is underway.

 

According to the official Xinhua News Agency last week, the government said it is ready to mass-produce a vaccine - currently undergoing human trials - to protect people from catching the virus from birds.

 

International experts fear the disease could mutate into a new strain that could spread from human to human, resulting in a global pandemic.