NW China bird flu causes no human, poultry death - CHINA - The persistent efforts in prevention and vaccination against the bird flu outbreak in northwest China's Qinghai Province early May are rewarded with a report of zero human death on Wednesday.

"With the supply of 3 million vaccines, there has been no report of poultry died of epidemic in this remote western province so far," Chen Ziquan, director of the Qinghai Provincial Health Department, said.

"At the same time, the past week saw only a few reports on the death of wild birds in Qinghai," he added.

The official statistics issued by China's Ministry of Agriculture on May 26 showed, the H5N1 strain of avian flue has killed 1,000 migratory birds, including bar-headed geese and great black-headed gulls since the bird flu outbreak took place in early May in Qinghai, a home to more than 2 million fowls.

"Yet, none of the 10,000 newly-hatched was confirmed dead," said Zhao Niannong, deputy director of the Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

Experts of agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry departments still keep tests of migratory birds with no epidemic symptom in the bird flu affected areas to make sure whether they still carry the H5N1 virus or had already acquired antibody.

The provincial animal epidemic prevention and control headquarters had send people to collect bodies of birds died of the fatal epidemic and put them under innocuous disposal.

As some birds flew southward since the beginning of July, the provincial government of Qinghai organized experts to study their migration routes in a bid to provide information to regions where the birds may pass through.

The province has also taken all possible measures to prevent from human infection contacted by bird flu virus, a provincial health official said.

Experts with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Tuesday they are impressedby China's commitment in fighting against bird flu.

Julie Hall, an official with the WHO China Office in charge of communicable diseases, said he was happy to find in Qinghai "the close collaboration, complete system and high awareness of the disease among local people."

Noureddin Mona, FAO representative in China, said that the measures China had taken after the bird flu outbreak in the northwestern province of Qinghai were "effective."

In the past, China had rare migrant birds infection cases. The appearance of bird flu has become a new scientific research subject for Chinese ornithologists.

Bird flu outbreak is a new challenge to the whole world, not China alone, said Mona, who suggested the world as a whole should be united to fight against the problem.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - 30th June 2005