August 26, 2004

WHO Urges China To Conduct More Studies On Bird Flu In Pigs

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged China to carry out more studies into the presence of a deadly strain of bird flu in pigs.

The WHO's appeal follows China's revelation that it had discovered the H5N1 virus in local pigs in 2003, long before the bird flu outbreak which swept across Asia this year.

The WHO says that additional studies needed to be conducted on the H5N1 strain of bird flu and other influenza A viruses in pigs, in order to have better understanding of the implications of the findings in China.