November 1, 2005

China steps up transparency on bird flu reporting

Heavily criticised in 2003 for failing to report accurately on the outbreak of severe acute respiratory or SARS, China says that it is now committed to investigation and rapid response action pertaining to bird flu cases, and that it holds it accountability to the public and to world health groups seriously.

With 20 percent of the world's domestic poultry population at 1.4 billion, most of which are scattered as small flock in rural areas, China assured the international community that it will play its role as an instrumental partner in the global effort to stem the spread of bird flu.

China has signed a memorandum of understanding with the US on cooperation of information sharing for infectious diseases, attesting to strong Chinese commitment in the world fight against bird flu, a health official said.

China has reported three bird flu outbreaks in poultry over the past month. No human cases have been reported, but authorities said that outbreaks in its domestic poultry flock might be inevitable.

China will provide subsidies to farmers who report sick birds to the authorities. Upon confirmation of bird flu, all birds within 1.9 miles of the infection will be killed and those within 3.1 miles vaccinated.

So far, the country has reported bird flu outbreaks on farms in the northern region of Inner Mongolia and the provinces of Anhui in the east and Hunan in central China. Authorities have destroyed tens of thousands of birds to stop the outbreaks and have quarantined the farms.