August 23, 2004

China Urged To Provide More Information On Bird Flu In Pigs

UN health and agricultural officials have urged China to provide more details after a top bird flu scientist revealed the deadly H5-N1 virus has been found in the country's pigs.

The World Health Organization says it needs more data to determine the actual route of transmission, and hopefully China will pass on that information in the next few days.

China's Ministry of Agriculture has not responded to questions and this has raised concerns that China still may not be as open as it should be.

The head of China's National bird flu Laboratory told an international conference on Friday the virus had been found in pigs on several farms in China.

She refused to provide any other details. But scientists warn that if pigs are infected, the virus could mutate and spread more easily to humans.