November 30, 2005

China fears officials may not detect bird flu cases fast
 

China has been open about its bird flu outbreaks, and not covering them up, but there were fears that incompetent officials in poor, rural areas may not detect cases as quickly as they should, the country's health minister said Wednesday.

"I am not afraid of local governments in China covering up the epidemic situation," said Gao Qiang, China's health minister. "What I am afraid of is the low level of competency and technical expertise of hospitals, clinics and medical personnel at the grassroots level."

China, which has the world's largest number of chickens, has called bird flu a serious epidemic. The government has reported 24 outbreaks of bird flu in poultry since October and confirmed three cases of the virus in humans. Two people died.

"Bird flu is mostly occurring in rural areas, and sometimes in very remote mountainous areas where local health conditions are very poor and where local health staff are not very competent," Gao said. "I am afraid those people will not be able to identify, diagnose and treat the epidemic early enough."

Gao said the government must step up training in those areas to control the spread of the disease.

The H5N1 virus has resulted in the deaths of at least 67 people and more than 100 million birds in Asia since 2003.