November 4, 2005

 

China unveils bird flu measures to boost trust
 

 

China's authorities are now eager to assure the public and the world that the government is still taking its anti-bird flu work very seriously and to show that it can be open, following sharp criticism that it was unwilling to share information during an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, which first emerged in 2002.

 

No human cases of bird flu have been reported in China, but two other recent outbreaks in poultry-one in Anhui province in the east, the other in central Hunan province-have sparked fears that human infections may be on the horizon.

 

In China, where animals and people often live in close proximity, authorities have destroyed tens of thousands of birds to contain the virus and banned poultry imports from 14 countries that have had bird flu outbreaks.

 

The leadership has also called for tighter monitoring and more aggressive vaccine research.

 

Xu Yanhui, the official in charge of anti-bird flu measures in Inner Mongolia revealed anti-bird flu efforts that included health workers pulling chickens from cages and stuffing them into bags before burning them in a huge bonfire. Workers have also sprayed disinfectant onto buildings, and spoke to villagers about the disease.

 

"From the last three outbreaks (of bird flu), we think China has responded very appropriately and very strongly," said Henk Bekedam, the WHO representative in Beijing. "What we have seen is an enormous political commitment."

 

Noureddin Mona, the Beijing-based representative for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, said China was employing "the right strategy".

 

"The government is now disclosing information and building a kind of confidence with the public and they already have learned many lessons from the previous nightmare of SARS," Mona said.

 

At the Huaneng Chicken Farm located in China's northern Inner Mongolia region, manager Zhang Li said its 50 employees have been barred from leaving since the outbreak.

 

China's policy is to kill all birds within three kilometres of an outbreak and vaccinate all birds within five kilometres.

 

The Huaneng farm is disinfected every 12 hours and its 91,800 chickens and about 20,000 chicks have been vaccinated since the outbreak, Zhang said.

 

Employees sprayed disinfectant on vehicles and the shoes of visiting reporters.

 

"Our measures are OK for now," Li said. "But the risk is still high."