November 7, 2005

 

Bird flu not ruled out in girl's death, China now says
 

 

China said Sunday it cannot rule out bird flu in the death of a 12-year-old girl last month, and is asking the WHO to help determine whether the virus killed the girl and made two other people sick.

 

If any of the cases are confirmed, it would be China first reported case of bird flu in humans.

 

Three people living in central China's Hunan province came down with pneumonia with unknown causes last month, after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu among local poultry, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

 

The girl was the only one who died. Her nine-year-old brother and a 36-year-old middle school teacher recovered. Chinese officials initially said the girl and her brother tested negative for bird flu.

 

But Sunday, Xinhua said experts "cannot rule out the possibility of human transmission of H5N1 bird flu. The specific cause needs further laboratory tests".

 

Xinhua also said China has asked WHO for help testing the blood and throat swabs from the three patients.

 

Roy Wadia, a WHO spokesman in Beijing, confirmed WHO was approached by China last week for help. He did not give a specific day.

 

"This is a reiteration of how much of a public health threat bird flu really is," said Wadia. "Sometimes it takes a human case or a suspected human case to raise the alarm, to remind us that no country, whether China or anywhere else, can afford to be complacent."

 

Wadia said China and the WHO are still working out the details of their cooperation. Samples might be sent to a WHO lab or WHO experts might be asked to help Chinese officials perform the testing in Chinese labs, he said.

 

Wadia said he did not think China had delayed its announcement of the suspected cases, but that instead it was trying to be thorough before going public.

 

"I think the information they have shared with us has been shared as soon as they can corroborate it," he said.

 

Wadia also said it was not unusual to have initial tests for a virus such as H5N1 come back negative and then later be determined as positive.

 

The girl, He Yin, died three days after developing a high fever on Oct 13, after having had "close contact with sick birds," Xinhua said. The girl younger brother was hospitalised with similar symptoms but recovered.

 

The 36-year-old patient reportedly cut raw chicken while having a minor injury on his hand and later fell ill, Xinhua said. Xinhua identified the man only by his surname, Song.

 

All three lived in or near Wantang, a village where the government says 545 chickens and ducks died of bird flu last month.

 

Also Sunday, 1,700 officials and 100 police finished culling about 370,000 birds in northern China Liaoning province after bird flu killed 8,940 chickens there.

 

The outbreak in Liaoning Badaohao village, east of Beijing, was China's fourth reported outbreak in three weeks.

 

State television news showed dozens of officials in white face masks and blue protective suits spraying disinfectant on empty poultry cages and the wheels of vehicles.

 

Xinhua said late Saturday that Badaohai lies along a migration route used by migratory birds heading from East Asia to Australia, contributing to fears that wild birds could spread the disease.

 

More than 20 magpies and other migratory birds had been spotted in the area, it said, without giving further details.

 

Chinese authorities have said they are concerned that wild birds might spread the virus, particularly following an outbreak last spring that killed more than 6,000 migratory geese and gulls at north-western China Qinghai Lake.

 

The State Forestry Bureau said last month it was activating a reporting network to detect outbreaks among wild birds.

 

New regulations went into effect in Beijing Sunday that allow detention for up to 15 days and fines of up to RMB200 (US$25) for anyone who fails to immunise their birds, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

 

The rules, announced jointly by the Beijing Agricultural Bureau and the Beijing Public Security Bureau, are aimed at ensuring a 100-percent bird vaccination rate in the capital, the newspaper said.