October 3, 2006

China says Mongolian bird flu outbreak under control

China has controlled an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu that killed almost 1,000 chickens and ducks last week in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, state media reported Tuesday (Oct 3).

The official Xinhua News Agency said no additional poultry had died and no human cases of the disease had been reported since the initial outbreak occurred in Jiuyuan district on Sep 27.

China has reported dozens of bird flu outbreaks in its vast poultry flocks and has destroyed millions of birds in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.

Veterinary experts believe the virus is spread by wild fowl when they migrate.

Health experts have warned that China is bound to suffer more human cases if it cannot stop further outbreaks in poultry.

China has suffered 13 human deaths from bird flu, including a soldier who died in 2003 but whose infection was only confirmed in August this year through genetic testing.

The H5N1 strain has killed at least 148 people worldwide since it started ravaging poultry stocks in Asia three years ago, according to World Health Organization figures.