July 7, 2004

China Confirms New Cases Of Bird Flu In Poultry

China reported a new outbreak of bird flu in poultry in an eastern province Tuesday, nearly four months after declaring victory over the highly contagious disease.
 
Dead chicken were found on a farm in Anhui province on Saturday, and tests confirmed they died of bird flu, the government said.
 
Since the farm is in an isolated area and the birds were hatched locally, agriculture experts believe the disease was introduced by migrating birds, the report said.
 
China has alerted the governments of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the relevant United Nations organizations, the report said.
 
World health experts fear that a strain of bird flu could lead to a pandemic in humans, but China has reported no cases of humans catching the disease from poultry.
 
China declared it had "stamped out" the disease in March, but warned that it might return with warmer weather.
 
"It's not surprising that it has come back," said Roy Wadia, a spokesman for the World Health Organization in Beijing. "It stays in the environment a long time."
 
In line with established control measures, authorities killed all the poultry within two miles of the affected farm and vaccinated poultry within three miles.
 
According to Wadia, "I think the experience that China had several months ago has prepared it well."
 
Thailand also reported Tuesday that it suspected a new outbreak of bird flu at a farm in a central province where thousands of chickens have died.
 
"I have received reports that there are suspected bird flu cases in Ayutthaya province and the result of lab tests will be confirmed in the next couple of days," Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob told reporters. "It is possible that the outbreak will return."
 
At its height earlier this year, bird flu ravaged flocks throughout Asia. It spread to humans in Vietnam and Thailand, killing 23 people. About 100 million chickens across the region were slaughtered to halt its spread.