February 13, 2004

 

 

Update of Bird Flu Outbreak This Week

 

World Health Organization officials dismissed claims from Asian countries that the bird flu outbreak is slowing down. In China, seven new regions reported suspected bird flu outbreaks, while the US poultry industry is in turmoil following two bird flu cases in Delaware and one in New Jersey.

 

Thailand and Vietnam, the only two countries with human casualties, claimed this week that the bird flu outbreak is showing signs of slowing down.

 

Bui Quang Anh, director of Vietnam's Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said, "The outbreak has begun to stop."

 

This comes after two days of relative quiet, with only one affected province reporting new cases. 57 of Vietnam's 64 provinces are affected by bird flu.

 

Thailand confirmed three more cases of bird flu in humans, bringing the total number of people infected by the virus to eight. But officials still maintain that the disease is under control. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on Tuesday that the entire country, except one district in Bangkok, should be free of the disease by February 28.

 

These claims were refuted by the WHO. Pascale Brudon, the World Health Organization's representative in Hanoi, said it remains far too early to say the disease is on the wane.

 

"We don't think the outbreak has been contained in poultry here," she said. "We still have a large number of outbreaks. We still have human cases every day. We're making progress but it still hasn't been contained."

 

Other countries in Asia affected by bird flu outbreaks are Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan. However, Pakistan and Taiwan - like the U.S. - have a milder strain that isn't believed to threaten humans.

 

In China, since the first recorded outbreak at a farm in Dingdang Town in Guangxi on January 27, China's bird flu woes are worsening by the day. A total of 45 confirmed and suspected outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus has been reported in 14 of the country's 31 provinces.

 

In the past few days, seven new regions reported suspected cases of bird flu. The seven regions include Honghu City, Gong'an County, Songzi City and Yangxin County in central Hubei Province, Heshan District of Yiyang City and Shaodong County in Hunan Province and Jiangcheng District of Yangjiang City in Guangdong Province.

 

According to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, local governments of those areas took prompt quarantine measures and culled poultry in the affected regions, bringing the epidemic under control.

 

In a standing meeting of the State Council, Premier Wen Jiabao has called for increased measures to support China's poultry industry.

 

Measures included preferential loan, taxation and administrative fees for poultry breeding, processing and cultivating enterprises affected by the epidemic, he said.

 

Wen also called on local governments to do their utmost to boost farmers' incomes by compensating them for any losses.

 

In the United States, the bird flu virus was found in a second Delaware chicken flock, and discovered in live chicken markets in New Jersey.

 

The United States' multi billion-dollar poultry is in turmoil after many countries imposed import bans following the bird flu outbreaks.

 

While US officials have repeatedly stated that the bird flu virus in the United States is of a low pathogenic strain, unlikely to be harmful to humans, China and Brazil have joined countries including Japan and South Korea and banned all US poultry imports. Russia, the biggest buyer of US birds, has scaled back its purchases.

 

America's total poultry exports make up 20% of domestic production and is valued at more than US$1.7bn a year.

 

More than 80 farms in Delaware are currently under quarantine and over 72,000 chickens culled as the U.S tries to avert further bans on its poultry.